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'''Rubel Lex Phillips, Sr.''' (March 29, 1925 – June 18, 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=December 8, 2011}}</ref>) was an [[attorney]], [[business]]man, and [[politician]] from [[Mississippi]] best known for his losing [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[governor of Mississippi|gubernatorial]] campaigns of 1963 and 1967.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/clarionledger/obituary.aspx?n=rubel-phillips&pid=152099370 |title=Rubel Phillips Obituary|publisher=''Jackson Clarion Ledger''|date=June 20, 2011|accessdate=December 19, 2011}}</ref>
'''Rubel Lex Phillips, Sr.''' (March 29, 1925 – June 18, 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=December 8, 2011}}</ref>) was an [[attorney]], [[business]]man, and [[politician]] from [[Mississippi]] best known for his losing [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[governor|gubernatorial]] campaigns of 1963 and 1967.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/clarionledger/obituary.aspx?n=rubel-phillips&pid=152099370 |title=Rubel Phillips Obituary|publisher=''Jackson Clarion Ledger''|date=June 20, 2011|accessdate=December 19, 2011}}</ref>
Previously, as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Phillips was a circuit court] clerk in Alcorn County in northeastern Mississippi and a member and chairman of the Mississippi Public Service Commission from 1956 to 1959. By 1963, he had switched parties to become only the third Republican since 1877 to seek his state's governorship. Phillips ran on the slogan of "K.O. the Kennedys",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cresswellslist.com/ballots2/phillips.htm|title=K.O. The Kennedys! The 1963 Rubel Phillips Campaign in Mississippi|publisher=cresswellslist.com|accessdate=November 1, 2011}}</ref> even though he had backed [[U.S. Senator]] [[John F. Kennedy]] for the presidency in 1960 over the Republican [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Phillips, with 38 percent of the ballots cast, lost to Democrat Paul Burney Johnson, Jr., the son of a former Governor Paul Johnson, Sr. That election was held barely two weeks prior to the [[assassination]] of President Kennedy in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]].
Previously, as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Phillips was a circuit court] clerk in Alcorn County in northeastern Mississippi and a member and chairman of the Mississippi Public Service Commission from 1956 to 1959. By 1963, he had switched parties to become only the third Republican since 1877 to seek his state's governorship. Phillips ran on the slogan of "K.O. the Kennedys",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cresswellslist.com/ballots2/phillips.htm|title=K.O. The Kennedys! The 1963 Rubel Phillips Campaign in Mississippi|publisher=cresswellslist.com|accessdate=November 1, 2011}}</ref> even though he had backed [[U.S. Senator]] [[John F. Kennedy]] for the presidency in 1960 over the Republican [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Phillips, with 38 percent of the ballots cast, lost to Democrat Paul Burney Johnson, Jr., the son of a former Governor Paul Johnson, Sr. That election was held barely two weeks prior to the [[assassination]] of President Kennedy in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]].
In 1967, Phillips ran as a [[Moderate Republican]] but lost decisively to the [[conservative]] Democrat John Bell Williams, then a veteran a [[U.S. representative]] who had been stripped of his seniority by the House Democratic Caucus for supporting [[Barry Goldwater]], rather than [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].
In 1967, Phillips ran as a [[Moderate Republican]] but lost decisively to the [[conservative]] Democrat John Bell Williams, then a veteran a [[U.S. representative]] who had been stripped of his seniority by the House Democratic Caucus for supporting [[Barry M. Goldwater]], rather than [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].
==Background==
==Background==
The campaign featured an exchange between GOP chairman Yerger and Senator James Eastland, who missed nearly thirty roll call votes while in Mississippi to campaign for Paul Johnson. In 1966, Wirt Yerger resigned as GOP chairman and considered challenging Eastland until U.S. Representative [[Prentiss Walker]] of [[Mize, Mississippi|Mize]] entered the race. Years later, Yerger said that Walker's decision to relinquish his House seat after one term for the vagaries of a Senate race was "very devastating" to the growth of the Mississippi GOP.<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo", p. 256</ref>
The campaign featured an exchange between GOP chairman Yerger and Senator James Eastland, who missed nearly thirty roll call votes while in Mississippi to campaign for Paul Johnson. In 1966, Wirt Yerger resigned as GOP chairman and considered challenging Eastland until U.S. Representative [[Prentiss Walker]] of [[Mize, Mississippi|Mize]] entered the race. Years later, Yerger said that Walker's decision to relinquish his House seat after one term for the vagaries of a Senate race was "very devastating" to the growth of the Mississippi GOP.<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo", p. 256</ref>
In [[Parchman, Mississippi|Parchman]] in [[Sunflower County, Mississippi|Sunflower County]], Phillips declared the [[Mississippi State Penitentiary]] "a disgrace" and called for a constitutional board "free of politics to exercise responsible leadership" at the institution then known for brutal practices. Phillips recounted the case of inmate Kimble Berry, serving time for [[manslaughter]] who was granted leave in 1961 by acting Governor Johnson but showed up in a [[Cadillac]] in [[Massachusetts]] claiming he had been authorized to recover [[burglary]] loot.<ref>''Memphis Commercial Appeal'', October 24, 1963.</ref><ref>''Meridian Star'', October 11, 1963.</ref>
In Parchman in Sunflower County, Phillips declared the Mississippi State Penitentiary "a disgrace" and called for a constitutional board "free of politics to exercise responsible leadership" at the institution then known for brutal practices. Phillips recounted the case of inmate Kimble Berry, serving time for [[manslaughter]] who was granted leave in 1961 by acting Governor Johnson but showed up in a [[Cadillac]] in [[Massachusetts]] claiming that he had been authorized to recover [[burglary]] loot.<ref>''Memphis Commercial Appeal'', October 24, 1963.</ref><ref>''The Meridian Star,'' October 11, 1963.</ref>
==1963 election results==
==1963 election results==
In a 64 percent turnout, Johnson defeated Phillips, 225,456 votes (62 percent) to 138,515 (38 percent). Gartin received 258,857 (74 percent) to Stanford Morse's 90,948 (26 percent) in the race for lieutenant governor. Phillips carried seven counties, ranging from [[Washington County, Mississippi|Washington]] (61 percent) to [[Jones County, Mississippi|Jones]] (50.6 percent). Phillips received 53 percent in [[Harrison County, Mississippi|Harrison County]] and 44.7 percent in both his native Alcorn and in [[Hinds County, Mississippi|Hinds County]], which includes the capital city of Jackson, where he spent the major part of his life.<ref>State of Mississippi, Election Statistics, 1963</ref>
In a 64 percent turnout, Johnson defeated Phillips, 225,456 votes (62 percent) to 138,515 (38 percent). Gartin received 258,857 (74 percent) to Stanford Morse's 90,948 (26 percent) in the race for lieutenant governor. Phillips carried seven counties, ranging from [[Washington County, Mississippi|Washington]] (61 percent) to [[Jones County, Mississippi|Jones]] (50.6 percent). Phillips received 53 percent in [[Harrison County, Mississippi|Harrison County]] and 44.7 percent in both his native Alcorn and in Hinds County, which includes the capital city of Jackson, where he spent the major part of his life.<ref>State of Mississippi, Election Statistics, 1963</ref>
''The Clarion-Ledger'' declared prematurely that "the handwriting is plain for all to see -- the Magnolia State wants nothing to do with the two-party system."<ref>''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', November 7, 1963</ref> Ungracious in victory, Adam telegraphed Yerger that since the GOP had been "electrocuted, will you please advise the date and place you will deliver the funeral oration?"<ref>''Hattiesburg American'', November 6, 1963</ref> Phillips in defeat said his new party had "lost a battle ... we have not lost the war. We now know that we have a strong two-party system."<ref>''Hattiesburg American'', November 6, 1963; ''[[U.S. News and World Report]]'', November 18, 1963, p. 46</ref> Years later, chairman Wirt Yerger said that Phillips might have run stronger had he endorsed legalized liquor sales. A 1963 poll found that 75 percent of Mississippi voters wanted to end statewide [[prohibition]], something not achieved until 1966. Mississippi was the last state with prohibition. Yerger said that the validity of the survey was unclear.<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo," p. 257</ref>
''The Clarion-Ledger'' declared prematurely that "the handwriting is plain for all to see -- the Magnolia State wants nothing to do with the two-party system."<ref>''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', November 7, 1963</ref> Ungracious in victory, Adam telegraphed Yerger that since the GOP had been "electrocuted, will you please advise the date and place you will deliver the funeral oration?"<ref>''Hattiesburg American'', November 6, 1963</ref> Phillips in defeat said his new party had "lost a battle ... we have not lost the war. We now know that we have a strong two-party system."<ref>''Hattiesburg American'', November 6, 1963; ''[[U.S. News and World Report]]'', November 18, 1963, p. 46</ref> Years later, chairman Wirt Yerger said that Phillips might have run stronger had he endorsed legalized liquor sales. A 1963 poll found that 75 percent of Mississippi voters wanted to end statewide [[prohibition]], something not achieved until 1966. Mississippi was the last state with prohibition. Yerger said that the validity of the survey was unclear.<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo," p. 257</ref>
Three Republicans were elected to full legislative terms in 1963 to the state legislature: Representatives [[Lewis McAllister|Lewis Leslie McAllister, Jr.]], a businessman from Meridian who had first won a [[special election]] in 1962, and attorney [[Charles K. Pringle]] of [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]], and State Senator [[Seelig Wise]]<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo", p. 242, 262</ref> of [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]], who represented [[Coahoma County, Mississippi|Coahoma]], [[Tunica County, Mississippi|Tunica]], and [[Quitman County, Mississippi|Quitman]] counties.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pressregister.com/article_b087cf45-a5b0-5c9e-b798-4dd9cf620d9f.html|title=Seelig Bartel "Bushie" Wise, September 7, 2004|newspaper=[[Clarksdale Press Register]]|accessdate=May 10, 2014}}</ref>
Three Republicans were elected to full legislative terms in 1963 to the state legislature: Representatives [[Lewis McAllister|Lewis Leslie McAllister, Jr.]], a businessman from Meridian who had first won a [[special election]] in 1962, and attorney [[Charles K. Pringle]] of [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]], and State Senator [[Seelig Wise]]<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo", p. 242, 262</ref> of [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]], who represented [[Coahoma County, Mississippi|Coahoma]], [[Tunica County, Mississippi|Tunica]], and [[Quitman County, Mississippi|Quitman]] counties.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pressregister.com/article_b087cf45-a5b0-5c9e-b798-4dd9cf620d9f.html|title=Seelig Bartel "Bushie" Wise, September 7, 2004|newspaper=''Clarksdale Press Register''|accessdate=May 10, 2014}}</ref>
The ''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'' urged Republicans to run candidates in all future elections. "Within the next decade, the Republicans ... will be on par with the Democrats. When that day arrives, the GOP will look back on this election as the real starting point."<ref>''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'', November 4, 1963</ref> The paper claimed that Phillips faced the opposition of "virtually every Democratic officeholder as well as the crushing weight of the state's one-party tradition. In the face of these odds, the showing was even more amazing."<ref>''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'', November 6, 1963</ref>
The ''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'' urged Republicans to run candidates in all future elections. "Within the next decade, the Republicans ... will be on par with the Democrats. When that day arrives, the GOP will look back on this election as the real starting point."<ref>''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'', November 4, 1963</ref> The paper claimed that Phillips faced the opposition of "virtually every Democratic officeholder as well as the crushing weight of the state's one-party tradition. In the face of these odds, the showing was even more amazing."<ref>''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'', November 6, 1963</ref>
Goldwater's 87 percent victory in Mississippi, accomplished the year prior to passage of the [[Voting Rights Act]], was accompanied by the upset victory of Prentiss Walker to Congress. In 1965, Republicans won mayoral positions in Hattiesburg and [[Columbus, Mississippi|Columbus]] and lost narrowly in [[Laurel, Mississippi|Laurel]] and [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]].<ref>''The New York Times'', June 9, 10, 1965</ref> The gains from 1964 and 1965 were halted in 1966 and 1967. The Democrat [[Gillespie V. Montgomery|G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery]] reclaimed Walker's House seat and held it for thirty years. Phillips ran again for governor in 1967 as a moderate candidate against the more conservative Democratic nominee John Bell Williams, who along with [[Albert Watson (South Carolina)|Albert W. Watson]] of [[South Carolina]] had been stripped of congressional seniority in 1965 for having endorsed Goldwater for president. Williams specifically was denied the chairmanship of the House Interstate and Foreign Affairs Committee.<ref>''Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report,'' XXV (October 20, 1967), pp. 2140-2141</ref>
Goldwater's 87 percent victory in Mississippi, accomplished the year prior to passage of the [[Voting Rights Act]], was accompanied by the upset victory of Prentiss Walker to Congress. In 1965, Republicans won mayoral positions in Hattiesburg and [[Columbus, Mississippi|Columbus]] and lost narrowly in [[Laurel, Mississippi|Laurel]] and [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]].<ref>''The New York Times,'' June 9, 10, 1965.</ref> The gains from 1964 and 1965 were halted in 1966 and 1967. The Democrat [[Gillespie V. Montgomery|G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery]] reclaimed Walker's House seat and held it for thirty years. Phillips ran again for governor in 1967 as a moderate candidate against the more conservative Democratic nominee John Bell Williams, who along with Albert William Watson of [[South Carolina]] had been stripped of congressional seniority in 1965 for having endorsed Goldwater for president the previous year. Williams specifically was denied the chairmanship of the House Interstate and Foreign Affairs Committee.<ref>''Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report,'' XXV (October 20, 1967), pp. 2140-2141.</ref>
Phillips opposed the since ended two-year residency requirement for voter registration, the longest of any state in the nation, having claimed that the rule was an impediment to industrial development. Phillips proposed a freeze on state employment, but Williams countered that such a move would limit the opportunities of young people.<ref>''Jackson Daily News'', October 17, 31, 1967; ''Hattiesburg American'', November 4, 1967</ref>
Phillips opposed the since ended two-year residency requirement for voter registration, the longest of any state in the nation, having claimed that the rule was an impediment to industrial development. Phillips proposed a freeze on state employment, but Williams countered that such a move would limit the opportunities of young people.<ref>''Jackson Daily News'', October 17, 31, 1967; ''Hattiesburg American'', November 4, 1967</ref>