William Compton (Mississippi)
William Compton (Democratic Party) ran for election for Governor of Mississippi. Compton lost in the Democratic primary on August 6, 2019.
Compton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Compton's professional experience includes working as a science teacher at Meridian High School.
Elections
2019
See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019
General election
General election for Governor of Mississippi
Tate Reeves defeated Jim Hood, David Singletary, and Bob Hickingbottom in the general election for Governor of Mississippi on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tate Reeves (R) | 51.9 | 459,396 | |
| Jim Hood (D) | 46.8 | 414,368 | ||
| David Singletary (Independent) | 1.0 | 8,522 | ||
| Bob Hickingbottom (Constitution Party) | 0.3 | 2,625 | ||
| Total votes: 884,911 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for Governor of Mississippi
Tate Reeves defeated William Waller in the Republican primary runoff for Governor of Mississippi on August 27, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tate Reeves | 54.1 | 179,623 | |
| William Waller | 45.9 | 152,201 | ||
| Total votes: 331,824 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jim Hood | 69.0 | 208,634 | |
| Michael Brown | 11.0 | 33,247 | ||
| Velesha P. Williams | 6.9 | 20,844 | ||
| Robert Shuler Smith | 6.7 | 20,395 | ||
| Robert Ray | 1.9 | 5,609 | ||
| William Compton | 1.8 | 5,321 | ||
| Albert Wilson | 1.7 | 5,122 | ||
| Gregory Wash | 1.1 | 3,218 | ||
| Total votes: 302,390 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Phillip West (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi
Tate Reeves and William Waller advanced to a runoff. They defeated Robert Foster in the Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tate Reeves | 48.9 | 187,312 | |
| ✔ | William Waller | 33.4 | 128,010 | |
| Robert Foster | 17.7 | 67,758 | ||
| Total votes: 383,080 | ||||
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2015
Elections for the Mississippi House of Representatives took place in 2015. A primary election was held on August 4, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 27, 2015.[1] William Bond Compton, Jr. was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Greg Snowden was unopposed in the Republican primary. Snowden defeated Compton in the general election.
| Mississippi House of Representatives, District 83 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Greg Snowden Incumbent |
80.5% | 5,363 | |
| Democratic | William Bond Compton, Jr. | 19.5% | 1,298 | |
| Total Votes | 6,661 | |||
2014
Compton ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate, to represent Mississippi. Compton sought the Democratic nomination in the primary on June 3, 2014, but lost to Travis Childers.
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Travis Childers |
74% | 63,548 | ||
| Bill Marcy | 12.1% | 10,361 | ||
| William Bond Compton, Jr. | 9.9% | 8,465 | ||
| Jonathan Rawl | 4.1% | 3,492 | ||
| Total Votes | 85,866 | |||
| Source: Mississippi Secretary of State - Official Democratic primary results |
||||
2011
- See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2011
Compton ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Mississippi in 2011. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 2, 2011.
Results
Democratic primary
| Gubernatorial Democratic Primary election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party | 43.5% | ||
| Democratic Party | 39.2% | ||
| Democratic Party | William Bond Compton, Jr. | 9.8% | |
| Democratic Party | Guy Dale Shaw | 7.3% | |
| Total Votes | 412,530 | ||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
William Compton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Compton's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Judicial Reform , Political Corruption, Prison Reform
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Public oversight of Mississippi's courts by making the "Code of Ethical Standards for Attorneys" law with fines, suspension, and disbarment as a consequence for violations. The oversight would be administered by non lawyers elected from the 9 Supreme Court districts. Judges and lawyers would be tracked with with an algorithm that would be looking for patterns of behavior that might indicate corruption. This would end Mississippi's 150 fifty year old Jim Crow justice system.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
Berni Sanders has a plan to include all Americans in a political system and not just the top one percent.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
I would recommend a book written by Curtis Wilkie titled "The Fall of the House of Zeus". This book gives a frightening overview of Mississippi's judicial process.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Honesty
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
Honesty
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
I believe the responsibility of an elected official is to the majority of the people and not just the top one percent.
What legacy would you like to leave?
If I have a legacy, it would be to end Mississippi's 150 year old racist Jim Crow judicial system.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
The assignation of President John F. Kennedy
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
I was a busboy for 2 summers.
What happened on your most awkward date?
My girlfriend had to push my car to jump start it.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
Christmas was my favorite holiday because as a teacher I got a well needed break.
What is your favorite book? Why?
My favorite book is "To Kill a Mocking Bird" because it is a view of the south through the eyes of a child.
If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
I would be Rip Van Winkle because a good nap is revitalizing.
What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?
My television is my favorite thing in my apartment because it is a window on the world.
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
"The of the Innocents" by Don Henley.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
Maintaining a healthy life style with diet and exercise.
A governor is the top executive authority in his or her state. What does that mean do you?
The governor has the opportunity to use the bully pulpit to bring issues to public.
Governors have many responsibilities, which vary from state to state. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your state?
The governor has the responsibility to represent all the people not just the top one percent.
Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?
I think the main responsibility for the governor in Mississippi is to end corruption.
In most states, governors have the power to make line-item vetoes. If that is true in your state, what would be your philosophy for how and when to use this power?
I would use the line item veto to eliminate parts of legislation that do not serve the bast interest of the people.
What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?
In an ideal relationship the governor and the legislature should serve the best interests of the people.
What do you love most about your state?
I love the climate and the green vegition. I find it to be refreshing and invigorating.
What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?
I think the major challenge for Mississippi is to end the 150 year old Jim Crow racist judicial system that has been expanded to not only include African Americans but all minorities, women and all Mississippians while creating an elite lawyer class to rule over all of us.
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See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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