1971 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held in three states.

1971 United States gubernatorial elections

November 2, 1971; February 1, 1972 (LA)
3 governorships
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 29 governorships 21 governorships Seats before 29 21 Seats after 30 20 Seat change 1 1
Results:   Democratic holds   Democratic pickups

In Mississippi and Kentucky, general elections took place on 2 November 1971. In Louisiana, their general election took place on 1 February 1972 after the party primaries on 6 November 1971 and a Democratic primary runoff on 18 December 1971. In Louisiana, this was the last gubernatorial election which didn't use the nonpartisan blanket primary system.

In Mississippi and Louisiana, there were no party changes (in both cases, from Democrat to Democrat). In Kentucky, there was a Democratic gain.

In Kentucky, Louie B. Nunn wasn't allowed to run for a second term under the term limits rule at the time, a rule that was changed in 1992.[1]

In Mississippi, John Bell Williams was also barred from a second term under the term limits rule at the time, a rule that was changed in the mid-1980s.[2]

In Louisiana, John McKeithen had been allowed a second term due to a new rule enacted that allowed governors two consecutive terms, and thus was allowed to run for a second term (see Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1967).[3] Thus, when the 1971 race rolled around, he too was term-limited.

Election results

A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.

State	Incumbent	Party	Status	Opposing candidates
Kentucky	Louie Nunn	Republican	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Wendell Ford (Democratic) 50.56% Tom Emberton (Republican) 44.35% Happy Chandler (Independent) 4.24% William Smith (American) 0.85%
Louisiana	John McKeithen	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Edwin Edwards (Democratic) 57.2% Dave Treen (Republican) 42.8%
Mississippi	John Bell Williams	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic victory	Bill Waller (Democratic) 77.02% Charles Evers (Independent) 22.13% Charles L. Sullivan (Independent) 0.85%

References

1. "Kentucky Constitution Section 71". Retrieved 2 July 2012.
2. "Gov.-elect Bryant's 8 appointments could impact college board". 22 November 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
3. Honan, William (5 June 1999). "J. J. McKeithen, 81, Governor Of Louisiana, 1964 to 1972". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2013.