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Election 1959 Results

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1959 governor election results by state and county

Hawaii held its first state election in 1959 and chose Republican William F. Quinn, while Democrats kept Kentucky and Mississippi, electing Bert T. Combs and Ross R. Barnett.

3 governor races were held in 1959. Democrats won 2 and Republicans 1.

The closest were Hawaii (R+2.5), Kentucky (D+21.1) and Mississippi (D+100.0).

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Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

About the 1959 governor elections

Three states voted for governor in 1959. Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state in August and held its first elections for state office, while Kentucky and Mississippi held their regular races. In Hawaii, Republican William F. Quinn, the last appointed territorial governor, narrowly defeated Democrat John A. Burns to become the first elected governor of the state. Burns won the office three years later. In Kentucky, Democrat Bert T. Combs beat Republican John M. Robsion Jr. by about 21 points. In Mississippi, Ross R. Barnett was elected with no opposition after winning the Democratic primary, the usual pattern in the one-party South, where Black citizens were largely kept from voting. Barnett became known nationally in 1962 for his resistance to the admission of James Meredith to the University of Mississippi.

Every race

StateDemocratVotesRepublicanVotesOthersMargin
Hawaii John A. Burns82,074 (48.7%) William F. Quinn86,213 (51.1%) 375 R+2.5
Kentucky Bert T. Combs516,549 (60.6%) John M. Robsion Jr.336,456 (39.4%) D+21.1
Mississippi Ross R. Barnett57,671 (100.0%) none D+100.0

Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.

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