Changes

Phillips said he spent $500,000 on the first gubernatorial campaign.<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo", p. 202.</ref> Democrats claimed that the [[New York City]] investment banker Nelson Trimble Levings, who owned a plantation in Mississippi and had opposed Senator Bilbo in the 1946 Democratic primary, was dispatching Rockefeller cash to Phillips, a point the GOP denied.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>​

Phillips said he spent $500,000 on the first gubernatorial campaign.<ref>"Challenging the Status Quo", p. 202.</ref> Democrats claimed that the [[New York City]] investment banker Nelson Trimble Levings, who owned a plantation in Mississippi and had opposed Senator Bilbo in the 1946 Democratic primary, was dispatching Rockefeller cash to Phillips, a point the GOP denied.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>​

Johnson carried the backing of the Mississippi Municipal Association, which consisted of most of the state's Democratic mayors. That endorsement prompted Phillips to cancel a scheduled appearance before the group.<ref>''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'', September 12, 1963; Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald'', September 4, 11, 1963; ''The New York Times,'' October 26, 1963.</ref>​

Johnson carried the backing of the Mississippi Municipal Association, which consisted of most of the state's Democratic mayors. That endorsement prompted Phillips to cancel a scheduled appearance before the group.<ref>''Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'', September 12, 1963; Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald,'' September 4, 11, 1963; ''The New York Times,'' October 26, 1963.</ref>​

Johnson refused to debate Phillips and expressed irritation over the fact that he was the first Mississippi Democratic nominee since 1947 to have Republican opposition. [[Carroll Gartin]], the former lieutenant governor seeking to regain the position on Johnson's ticket, declared Phillips' candidacy "a great disservice" to the state because "everyone had a chance to run as a Democrat."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 9, 1963.</ref> ''The Jackson Daily News'' similarly declared it a "nuisance" to hold a general election after two all-encompassing Democratic primaries.<ref>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 16, 1963.</ref>​

Johnson refused to debate Phillips and expressed irritation over the fact that he was the first Mississippi Democratic nominee since 1947 to have Republican opposition. Carroll Gartin (1913-1966), the former lieutenant governor seeking to regain the position on Johnson's ticket, declared Phillips' candidacy "a great disservice" to the state because "everyone had a chance to run as a Democrat."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 9, 1963.</ref> ''The Jackson Daily News'' similarly declared it a "nuisance" to hold a general election after two all-encompassing Democratic primaries.<ref>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 16, 1963.</ref>​

In Water Valley in northern Mississippi, Phillips challenged Johnson's proposal to change election laws, suggesting that his rival would create "a dictatorship ... so Republicans and [[Independents]] cannot run for office."<ref name="ReferenceC"/> Unlike neighboring [[Louisiana]], which in 1975 abolished one of the three elections in the cycle, the Mississippi legislature never revised the state's election law. Some had argued that such a change might hamper efforts to recruit northern industries into the South.<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 28, 1963.</ref><ref>''The New York Times'', April 12 and May 10–14, 1964.</ref>

In Water Valley in northern Mississippi, Phillips challenged Johnson's proposal to change election laws, suggesting that his rival would create "a dictatorship ... so Republicans and [[Independents]] cannot run for office."<ref name="ReferenceC"/> Unlike neighboring [[Louisiana]], which in 1975 abolished one of the three elections in the cycle, the Mississippi legislature never revised the state's election law. Some had argued that such a change might hamper efforts to recruit northern industries into the South.<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 28, 1963.</ref><ref>''The New York Times'', April 12 and May 10–14, 1964.</ref>