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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]].​

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]].​

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==Background==​

==Backgorund==

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Phillips was born to William T. Phillips and the former Ollie Fare in the village of Kossuth near Corinth, the seat of government for Alcorn County. He graduated in 1943 from Alcorn Agricultural High School in Kossuth. Thereafter, he enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] in which he served for four years in the Pacific Ocean Theater of Operationsduring [[World War II]] and, then, with the post-war occupation. Phillips also retained  a commission in the Navy Reserve, from which he retired at the rank of commander in 1963.<ref name=obit/>​

Phillips was born to William T. Phillips and the former Ollie Fare in the village of Kossuth near Corinth, the seat of government for Alcorn County. He graduated in 1943 from Alcorn Agricultural High School in Kossuth. Thereafter, he enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] in which he served for four years in the Pacific Ocean Theater of Operationsduring [[World War II]] and, then, with the post-war occupation. Phillips also retained  a commission in the Navy Reserve, from which he retired at the rank of commander in 1963.<ref name=obit/>​

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Formerly a member of the First [[Baptist]] Church of Jackson, Mississippi, Phillips later was among five founding members of Northminster Baptist Church, at which he was the first chairman of the deacon board and taught the men's [[Sunday school]] class. He was a fundraiser for his alma mater, Millsaps College and the St. Andrew's Episcopal School, also located in Jackson.<ref name=obit/>​

Formerly a member of the First [[Baptist]] Church of Jackson, Mississippi, Phillips later was among five founding members of Northminster Baptist Church, at which he was the first chairman of the deacon board and taught the men's [[Sunday school]] class. He was a fundraiser for his alma mater, Millsaps College and the St. Andrew's Episcopal School, also located in Jackson.<ref name=obit/>​

 

==Switching to the GOP==​

==Switching to the GOP==​

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Though Phillips had endorsed [[Adlai Stevenson]] for president in 1956 against the Republican incumbent [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and Kennedy over Nixon in 1960, he left the Democrats in 1963 to run for governor as the Republican nominee in a bid to succeed the term-limited Ross H. Barnett, who had fought the [[Segregation|desegregation]] in 1962 of the University of Mississippi. Phillips faced the Democratic nominee Paul Johnson, who was nearly as outspoken in defense of segregation as his predecessor, Barnett.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Challenging the Status Quo: Rubel Lex Phillips and the Mississippi Republican Party (1963-1967)," ''The Journal of Mississippi History'' XLVII, November 1985, No. 4, pp. 240-242.</ref> ​

Though Phillips had endorsed [[Adlai Stevenson]] for president in 1956 against the Republican incumbent [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and Kennedy over Nixon in 1960, he left the Democrats in 1963 to run for governor as the Republican nominee in a bid to succeed the term-limited Ross H. Barnett, who had fought the [[Segregation|desegregation]] in 1962 of the University of Mississippi. Phillips faced the Democratic nominee Paul Johnson, who was nearly as outspoken in defense of segregation as his predecessor, Barnett.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Challenging the Status Quo: Rubel Lex Phillips and the Mississippi Republican Party (1963-1967)," ''The Journal of Mississippi History'' XLVII, November 1985, No. 4, pp. 240-242.</ref> ​

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Bidwell Adam, a former lieutenant governor under segregationist Governor [[Theodore Bilbo]] and the Democratic state chairman in Mississippi at the time, said that Phillips had contacted him in 1962 to seek backing for a potential Democratic campaign for governor.<ref>''Hattiesburg American,'' October 16, 1963; ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', October 24, 1963.</ref> Paul Johnson then claimed that Phillips had become "an overnight Republican" after failure to acquire financial support in a primary with a large open field. Johnson said that Phillips had been "anointed by Squirt Yerger in a Jackson hotel room," a reference to Republican chairman Wirt Adams Yerger, Jr., who served from 1956 to 1966.<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', October 16, 24, 1963; ''The Meridian Star'', October 9, 1963.</ref> the first Republican candidate since 1947, when a former governor of [[Nebraska]], George L. Sheldon, polled 2.5 percent of the Mississippi gubernatorial general election vote.<ref>State of Mississippi, Election Statistics, 1947.</ref> ​

Bidwell Adam, a former lieutenant governor under segregationist Governor Theodore G. Bilbo and the Democratic state chairman in Mississippi at the time, said that Phillips had contacted him in 1962 to seek backing for a potential Democratic campaign for governor.<ref>''Hattiesburg American,'' October 16, 1963; ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', October 24, 1963.</ref> Paul Johnson then claimed that Phillips had become "an overnight Republican" after failure to acquire financial support in a primary with a large open field. Johnson said that Phillips had been "anointed by Squirt Yerger in a Jackson hotel room," a reference to Republican chairman Wirt Adams Yerger, Jr., who served from 1956 to 1966.<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 16, 24, 1963; ''The Meridian Star'', October 9, 1963.</ref> the first Republican candidate since 1947, when a former governor of [[Nebraska]], George L. Sheldon, polled 2.5 percent of the Mississippi gubernatorial general election vote.<ref>State of Mississippi, Election Statistics, 1947.</ref> ​

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Johnson and Adam questioned the new Republican's dedication to segregation by noting that as the clerk of Alcorn County from 1952 to 1956 Phillips had supervised the registration of more [[African-American]] voters than had been permitted in most other Mississippi counties at that time.<ref>''Hattiesburg American,'' November 4, 1963.</ref> The pair stressed Phillips' support for Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and Kennedy in 1960. They too had also backed Stevenson over Eisenhower but supported the unpledged electors which carried Mississippi (and half of [[Alabama]]) in 1960 over the Kennedy and Nixon electoral slates.<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 16 and November 4, 1963.</ref>​

Johnson and Adam questioned the new Republican's dedication to segregation by noting that as the clerk of Alcorn County from 1952 to 1956 Phillips had supervised the registration of more [[African-American]] voters than had been permitted in most other Mississippi counties at that time.<ref>''Hattiesburg American,'' November 4, 1963.</ref> The pair stressed Phillips' support for Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and Kennedy in 1960. They too had also backed Stevenson over Eisenhower but supported the unpledged electors which carried Mississippi (and half of [[Alabama]]) in 1960 over the Kennedy and Nixon electoral slates.<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 16 and November 4, 1963.</ref>​

In its endorsement of Paul Johnson, the ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'' urged voters "not to play with fire" and ignite the birth of a two-party system, which would lead to a political division among whites along partisan and economic lines.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', November 4, 1963</ref> Johnson called the two-party concept "a political rendezvous with death."<ref name="ReferenceB">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', October 16, 1963</ref> At a pre-election rally in Jackson, Barnett urged Mississippi Democrats to "push out this Republican threat" and added that he was "fed up with these fence-riding, pussy-footing, snow-digging Yankee Republicans."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 16, 1963; ''Time Magazine,'' October 25, 1963, p. 29.</ref>​

In its endorsement of Paul Johnson, the ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'' urged voters "not to play with fire" and ignite the birth of a two-party system, which would lead to a political division among whites along partisan and economic lines.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', November 4, 1963</ref> Johnson called the two-party concept "a political rendezvous with death."<ref name="ReferenceB">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', October 16, 1963</ref> At a pre-election rally in Jackson, Barnett urged Mississippi Democrats to "push out this Republican threat" and added that he was "fed up with these fence-riding, pussy-footing, snow-digging Yankee Republicans."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 16, 1963; ''Time Magazine,'' October 25, 1963, p. 29.</ref>​

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The ''[[Hattiesburg American]]'' echoed the Democratic contention that the primary beneficiaries of a two-party system would be the then "920,000 Negroes who dwell here."<ref>''Hattiesburg American'', October 7, 1963</ref> ''The American'' denounced Republican leaders [[Barry M. Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] and [[Nelson A. Rockefeller]] of [[New York (state)|New York]], rivals for the party's 1964 presidential nomination,  for their common membership in the [[National Urban League]] and the [[NAACP]]. ''The American'' also criticized then freshman [[U.S. Representative]] [[Robert Taft, Jr.]], son of the late conservative [[U.S. Senator]] [[Robert A. Taft]] of [[Ohio]], for having remarked that "no segregationist belongs on a Republican ticket or even in the party."<ref>''Hattiesburg American'', October 24, 1963</ref> An advertisement carried in the ''Jackson Daily News'' linked white Republicans with "modern [[scalawag]]s," a reference to southern whites who cooperated with [[carpetbagger]]s during [[Reconstruction era in the United States|Reconstruction]]."<ref>''Jackson Daily News,'' October 15, 1963</ref>​

The ''[[Hattiesburg American]]'' echoed the Democratic contention that the primary beneficiaries of a two-party system would be the then "920,000 Negroes who dwell here."<ref>''Hattiesburg American,'' October 7, 1963.</ref> ''The American'' denounced Republican leaders [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] and [[Nelson A. Rockefeller]] of [[New York]], rivals for the party's 1964 presidential nomination,  for their common membership in the [[National Urban League]] and the [[NAACP]]. ''The American'' also criticized then freshman [[U.S. Representative]] Robert Taft, Jr., son of the late conservative U.S. Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] of [[Ohio]], for having remarked that "no segregationist belongs on a Republican ticket or even in the party."<ref>''Hattiesburg Americ,'' October 24, 1963.</ref> An advertisement carried in the ''Jackson Daily News'' linked white Republicans with "modern [[scalawag]]s," a reference to southern whites who cooperated with [[carpetbagger]]s during [[Reconstruction]]."<ref>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 15, 1963.</ref>​

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Phillips defended the two-party format on the grounds that competition can produce excellence and questioned how competitive general elections would be "dangerous" because white voters had for years been divided in contentious Democratic primary runoff elections.<ref>''Jackson Daily News'', October 18, 1963; ''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald'', September 20, 1963</ref> Phillips stressed that in the 1850s, when Mississippi Democrats faced competition from [[Whig Party (United States)|Whigs]], the state ranked fifth nationally in per capita income. Like Johnson, Phillips felt compelled to denounce the [[Radical Republicans|Radical]] Reconstruction policies of the 1860s and 1870s.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>​

Phillips defended the two-party format on the grounds that competition can produce excellence and questioned how competitive general elections would be "dangerous" because white voters had for years been divided in contentious Democratic primary runoff elections.<ref>''Jackson Daily News'', October 18, 1963; ''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald'', September 20, 1963</ref> Phillips stressed that in the 1850s, when Mississippi Democrats faced competition from [[Whig Party (United States)|Whigs]], the state ranked fifth nationally in per capita income. Like Johnson, Phillips felt compelled to denounce the [[Radical Republicans|Radical]] Reconstruction policies of the 1860s and 1870s.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>​