Changes

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>''The 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>''The 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, and lost narrowly in Laurel and 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. "Sonny" Montgomery reclaimed Walker's House seat and held it for thirty years thereafter. 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>

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 (1917-1998) to Congress. In 1965, Republicans won mayoral positions in Hattiesburg and Columbus, and lost narrowly in Laurel and 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. "Sonny" Montgomery reclaimed Walker's House seat and held it for thirty years thereafter. 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>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 17, 31, 1967; ''The 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>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 17, 31, 1967; ''The Hattiesburg American,'' November 4, 1967.</ref>​