Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2011

Main article: State executive official elections, 2011

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The Mississippi gubernatorial election of 2011 was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, following a primary held on August 2, 2011. Republican Phil Bryant, the state's current lieutenant governor, defeated Democrat Hattiesburg mayor Johnny DuPree.

Term limits prevented the state's current Governor, Haley Barbour, from running for a third term, and there was a large field of candidates jockeying for his seat. Both Republicans and Democrats had multiple candidates enter the primary elections, two candidates claiming to represent the Reform Party sought a spot on the ballot, and one independent candidate qualified for the general election.

In early September 2011, though, all three third-party candidates were removed from the ballot. Independent candidate William D. Oatis withdrew from the race citing a lack of money to support his campaign, and the Mississippi State Board of Election Commissioners removed both Reform Party hopefuls, Bobby Kearan and Shawn O'Hara, from the ballot. Despite an announcement on the Reform Party National Committee's website that Kearan was their official candidate, the Mississippi State Board of Elections granted formal recognition to the O'Hara campaign. But O'Hara was also running for Mississippi Treasurer, and Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann removed him from the gubernatorial race, citing a Mississippi law that stipulates candidates who file for multiple offices can only run in the race for which they filed most recently.

• Background
• November 8 general election
• August 23 primary runoff election
• August 2 primary election
• Campaign finance

2011 State Executive Official Elections

Kentucky Gov./Lt. Gov. • SoS • AG Down Ballot Offices Louisiana Gov. • Lt. Gov • SoS • AG Down Ballot Offices Mississippi Gov. • Lt. Gov • SoS • AG Down Ballot Offices West Virginia Gov.

News • Calendar

Contents
1 Key dates
2 Race background
3 Race tracking

Key dates

• The full calendar for the 2011 electoral season is available online from the Mississippi Secretary of State. Dates may change in accordance with Secretary of State's regulations and with the state's Constitution.

• Voters may check their registration status, register for the first time, or request an absentee ballot at the Mississippi Secretary of State's Voter Registration Portal.

• A candidate must receive at least a simple majority of votes cast to avoid a run-off. The same requirement for 50% plus one applies to the general election; if the election does not yield a winner in a statewide race, the state Senate will choose a winner from among the top two vote getters when it reconvenes in January 2012.

• Administrative deadlines are at close of business (5:00) unless otherwise noted.

Deadline	Event
Mar. 1	Declaration of candidacy
June 18	Absentee voting begins for the primary election
July 2	Voter registration (in person) for the primary
July 3	Voter registration (postmark on a mailed application) for the primary
Aug. 2	Primary election
Aug. 23	Runoff primary election, if required
Sept. 2	Certification of results for primary
Sept. 24	Absentee voting begins for the general election
Oct. 8	Voter registration (in person) for the general election
Oct. 9	Voter registration (postmark on a mailed application) for the general election
Nov. 8	General election
Nov. 29	Runoff general election, if required
Dec. 8	Certification of results for general election

Race background

Haley Barbour's popularity could rub off on his lieutenant governor, Phil Bryant, who is hoping to succeed him. Given Mississippi's Republican preferences, it likely won't be needed. In addition to Bryant, two new political faces have entered the race, retired Coast Guard Major General Hudson Holliday and businessman Dave Dennis.

Additionally, both the Secretary of State, Delbert Hosemann, and the State Treasurer, Tate Reeves, each a Republican, are potential entrants. Fewer Democrats are lined up at this early date; the only names officially in the race are businessman Bill Luckett and Mayor Johnny DuPree of Hattiesburg. Overall, at the gubernatorial level, Mississippi's Democratic bench is thin.

Race tracking

See also: Ballotpedia Election Racetracking

2011 Race Rankings for Governor of Mississippi
Race Tracker		Race Rating
The Cook Political Report		Likely Republican
Governing Politics		Safe Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball		Solid Republican
The Rothenberg Political Report		Republican Favored
Overall Call		Likely Republican

Contents
1 Results
2 Polls

Results

Governor of Mississippi, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Phil Bryant	61%	544,851
	Democratic	Johnny DuPree	39%	348,617
Total Votes				893,468

Candidates

Democratic

• Johnny DuPree, a realtor and the Mayor of Hattiesburg since 2001

Republican

• Phil Bryant, Haley Barbour's Lieutenant Governor, made his candidacy official on January 3, 2011.

Former candidates

Reform

• Bobby Kearan
• Shawn O'Hara

Independent

• William D. Oatis

Results

Governor - Democratic primary runoff results (Unofficial)
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	aJohnny DuPree	55%
	Democratic Party	Bill Luckett, Jr.	45%
Total Votes			309,728

Results

Gubernatorial Republican Primary election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	James Broadwater	1.2%
	Republican Party	aPhil Bryant	59.5%
	Republican Party	Dave Dennis	25.7%
	Republican Party	Hudson Holliday	4.7%
	Republican Party	Ron Williams	8.8%
Total Votes			289,788

Gubernatorial Democratic Primary election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	William Bond Compton, Jr.	9.8%
	Democratic Party	aJohnny DuPree	43.5%
	Democratic Party	aBill Luckett, Jr.	39.2%
	Democratic Party	Guy Dale Shaw	7.3%
Total Votes			412,530

In Mississippi, a majority of the primary vote is required in order to advance to the general election. Because neither DuPree nor Luckett, Jr. won a clear majority, the two will faced off in a primary runoff on August 23. Dupree won that contest, and with that win earned the Democratic seat on the ballot in November.

Candidates

Democratic

• William Bond Compton, Jr., a highschool teacher and previous gubernatorial candidate
• Johnny DuPree, a realtor and the Mayor of Hattiesburg since 2001
• Bill Luckett, Jr., an attorney, real estate developer, and business owner in Clarksdale.
• Guy Dale Shaw, a former tax assessor

Republican

• James Broadwater, running as a Tea Party candidate
• Phil Bryant, Haley Barbour's Lieutenant Governor, made his candidacy official on January 3, 2011.
• Dave Dennis, the owner of a contracting business on Mississippi's Gulf Coast
• Hudson Holliday, a retired two-star General and small business owner
• Ron Williams

Reform

Currently, two groups claim to represent the official Reform Party of Mississippi. A determination has not been made by the State Board of Election Commissioners as to which group should be recognized as the official Reform Party of Mississippi.

• Bobby Kearan
• Shawn O'Hara

Independent

• William D. Oatis

Polls

Public Policy Polling conducted a telephone survey of 817 Mississippi voters, asking them which candidate they would vote for in a number of pair-ups. The following tables present their findings, which make it clear that the Republican party, regardless of which candidate goes to the general election, is very likely to win.

The margin of error for all surveys is +/- 3.4%.

Date of Poll	Pollster	Bryant (R)	DuPree (D)	Undecided	Number polled
Mar 24-27	Public Policy Polling	56%	25%	19%	817

Date of Poll	Pollster	Bryant (R)	Luckett (D)	Undecided	Number polled
Mar 24-27	Public Policy Polling	53%	27%	20%	817

Date of Poll	Pollster	Dennis (R)	DuPree (D)	Undecided	Number polled
Mar 24-27	Public Policy Polling	41%	28%	31%	817

Date of Poll	Pollster	Dennis (R)	Luckett (D)	Undecided	Number polled
Mar 24-27	Public Policy Polling	43%	25%	32%	817

Date of Poll	Pollster	Holliday (R)	DuPree (D)	Undecided	Number polled
Mar 24-27	Public Policy Polling	37%	28%	35%	817

Date of Poll	Pollster	Holliday (R)	Luckett (D)	Undecided	Number polled
Mar 24-27	Public Policy Polling	38%	28%	34%	817

The Secretary of State regulates campaign finance and maintains all records online.

Due dates for reports

Due dates for the 2011 primary season are as follows: Periodic report due May 10, 2011 Periodic report due June 10, 2011 Periodic report due July 8, 2011 48 hour primary reports due July 24-31, 2011 Pre-election primary report due July 26, 2011 48 hour run-off reports due August 14-21, 2011 Pre-election run-off report due August 16, 2011

Due dates for the 2011 general season are as follows: Periodic report due October 10, 2011 48 hour reports due October 30 - November 6, 2011 Pre-election report due November 1, 2011 48 hour run-off reports due November 20-27, 2011 Pre-election run-off report due November 22, 2011

• Italicized reports are only due if a run-off is required.
• 48-hour reports are due on all contribution over $200.

Nominees

Compton

William Compton, Jr. Campaign Finance Reports
Report		Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions	(Expenditures)	Cash on Hand
Periodic Report		June 10, 2011	$300.00	$300.00	$0	$0
Periodic Report		May 10, 2011	$300.00	$300.00	$0	$0

See also

• Gubernatorial elections, 2011
• Governor of Mississippi
• Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
• Mississippi

External links

• Mississippi Voter Information Center
• The Green Papers

Campaign sites

Democrats

• Johnny DePree for Governor of Mississippi
• Lucket for Mississippi

Republicans

• James Broadwater for Governor
• Phil Bryant
• Dave Dennis for Governor
• Hudson Holliday 4 Governor

Reform

• Bobby Kearan's official campaign website