Nov. 5, 1963 - Lieutenant Governor Paul Johnson Jr. (pictured), who has pledged to continue Governor Ross Barnett’s massive resistance to racial integration, was elected Governor of Mississippi today over a strong conservative Republican. Mr. Johnson led Rubel Phillips, a 38-year-old attorney, by a wide margin. Mr. Johnson, a 47-year-old career politician, will succeed Governor Barnett in January for a four-year term. Under Mississippi law, a Governor is ineligible to succeed himself. The Governor-elect will take office facing trial for criminal contempt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Both Mr. Johnson and Governor Barnett were cited for defying a court order to admit James Meredith, a Negro, to the University of Mississippi last year. The case is now on appeal to the Supreme Court to decide whether the two officials should receive a jury trial.
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