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Ron Williams (Mississippi)
Ron Williams was a Libertarian Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi in the 2015 elections.[1] Williams ran to replace incumbent Tate Reeves (R), who was ultimately re-elected.[2]
Williams was a 2012 Libertarian candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 4th Congressional District of Mississippi. He was previously a Republican candidate for Governor of Mississippi in the 2011 elections. He lost in the primary to Phil Bryant (R).
Biography
Williams grew up in Pascagoula, Miss. He and his wife have owned Hazmat Services, Inc. for more than two decades. He prides himself on being a small business owner and a candidate who "does not come from the background of corporate business or big politics."[3]
Williams served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and achieved the rank of captain.[3]
Education
- Attended Mississippi State University[3]
Elections
2015
Eleven state executive offices in Mississippi were up for election in 2015. The general election was held on November 3, 2015, following a primary election on August 4, 2015. Runoffs were scheduled for August 25 in case no candidate received a majority (50 percent plus one) of the popular vote in a given primary race.
Ron Williams faced incumbent Tate Reeves (R) and challengers Tim Johnson (D) and Rosa B. Williams (I) in the general election.[4]
| Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Tim Johnson | 36.1% | 259,008 | |
| Republican |  Tate Reeves Incumbent |
60.3% | 433,382 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Williams | 2.3% | 16,317 | |
| Reform | Rosa B. Williams | 1.3% | 9,480 | |
| Total Votes | 718,187 | |||
| Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State | ||||
Polls
Hypothetical general election match-ups
| Mississippi Lieutenant Governor: four-way race | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Tate Reeves* (R) | Tim Johnson (D) | Ron Williams (L) | Rosa B. Williams (Reform) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||
| Mason-Dixon Poll (April 21-23, 2015) | 54% | 33% | 2% | 1% | 10% | +/-4.0 | 625 | ||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.
2012
Williams was defeated by incumbent Steven Palazzo.[5] Williams ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Mississippi's 4th District. As the nominee on the Libertarian ticket, Williams faced incumbent Steven Palazzo (Republican), Michael Herrington (Democratic), and Robert W. Claunch (Reform) in the November 2012 general election.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matthew Moore | 28.8% | 82,344 | |
| Republican | Steven Palazzo Incumbent |
64.1% | 182,998 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Williams | 0.7% | 2,108 | |
| Reform | Robert W. Claunch | 6.3% | 17,982 | |
| Total Votes | 285,432 | |||
| Source: Mississippi Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2011
- See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2011
Williams ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Mississippi in 2011. He lost in the Republican primary to Phil Bryant on August 2, 2011
Results
Republican primary
| Gubernatorial Republican Primary election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  Phil Bryant
|
59.5% | |
| Republican Party | Dave Dennis | 25.7% | |
| Republican Party | Ron Williams | 8.8% | |
| Republican Party | Hudson Holliday | 4.7% | |
| Republican Party | James Broadwater | 1.2% | |
| Total Votes | 289,788 | ||
Campaign themes
2012
On his campaign website, Williams identified the following key issues of his campaign:
- Support small business:"I will work to end no bid contracts. For years, large companies have been able to buy their way into huge government contracts. Many times, these companies charge more for their services than small businesses willing to do these services for a lower cost. This costs the government more and is a reason we have such a deficit in the state economy. Competition and the free market will decide who gets hired."[7]
- Healthcare:"Healthcare is a huge portion of the budget. There are also huge gaps in accountability for where that money goes. I will look at that budget, find out where money is being wasted, and where money is needed most. As Governor, I will try to make healthcare more affordable for people, but I don’t support forcing anyone to buy it- I will not support the Obama healthcare plan. Additionally, I will not reduce medicare benefits for our elderly. We will reduce fraud and control costs by claiming term limits on non-elderly participation."[7]
- Education:"I will review where money for education is going, streamline education spending by getting rid of any and all waste, and use money saved to fully fund textbooks and supplies for teachers. As Governor, I will support school vouchers and charter schools to give children and their parents more choices when it comes to education. 61.77% of our budget goes to education. If we can identify places where that money is wasted, we can re-appropriate that money to places where it would be more effective, all the while making sure not to take anything away from teachers."
- Crime:"I will revamp the criminal justice system to make it more efficient. I believe there are two types of offenders: those we are scared of and those we are mad at. The ones we’re scared of are the ones who committed heinous, terrible crimes like murder. The ones we’re mad at are ones who commit crimes like dodging tickets or other misdemeanors. The cases with the ones we are mad at should be looked so we make sure to fix the problem at its source so the small crime doesn’t happen again. The ones that commit the larger crimes then can get the right attention. As Governor, I will also more thoroughly review our death penalty process to make sure that our system is completely sure that he committed the crime."[7]
- Taxes:"As Governor, I will work to reduce the income tax. Instead, I support the fair tax or something like it, which only taxes us for things we spend money on, like goods and services. This means our paychecks- our entire paychecks- stay with us. Furthermore, the tax code has become ridiculously lengthy and complicated - it needs to be simplified and implemented without exception."[7]
- Immigration:All the other candidates support E-Verify, which is what the USCIS, the immigration department, uses to check on an employee’s legal status, but the system is extremely slow in enforcement so many times, illegal employees get their paychecks and leave before getting caught. I support new legislation that would incur harsher penalties for businesses that hire illegal immigrants. As Governor, I will also work with USCIS to enforce these new laws in a more efficient manner."[7]
See also
- Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2015
- Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
- Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2011
- Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2011
- Gubernatorial elections, 2011
- Governor of Mississippi
- Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
- Phil Bryant
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Candidate Qualifying List," accessed March 4, 2015
- ↑ WHLT News, "Mississippi 2015 State General Election Results," November 3, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 RonWilliamsforGovernor.com, "About Ron," accessed July 20, 2011
- ↑ Associated Press, "Mississippi - Summary Vote Results," August 04, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Mississippi," November 19, 2012
- ↑ WAPT 16 "Unofficial Mississippi Primary Results," March 13, 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 RonWilliamsForGovernor.com, "Issues & solutions," accessed July 20, 2011
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