Robert Gray (Mississippi politician)

Robert Gray
Personal details
Born	April 14, 1969 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Religion	Christianity
Website	Campaign website

Robert Gray (born April 14, 1969) is an American politician and truck driver from the state of Mississippi who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Mississippi in the 2015 election. A Jackson native, Gray is an unmarried long-distance truck driver and former firefighter. He defeated lawyer Vicki Slater and Dr. Valerie Short in the Democratic gubernatorial primary on August 4, 2015. Gray received 50.9% of the vote while Slater received 30.3% and Short 18.8%. Gray did not vote in the primaries as he was out of town for work and later expressed surprise at his win.^[1][2][3][4] He operates a truck company known as Fancy Horse Transportation, Inc.

Early life

Gray was born in about 1968 in Jackson, Mississippi and currently lives in Terry, Mississippi. His mother is Judie Gray Livingston, and he has one sister, Angela.^[5] Gray attended Provine High School in Jackson.^[6] He worked as a truck driver and was formerly a firefighter.^[7]

Gubernatorial race

Gray stated he spent between $50 and $60 on his campaign and had no formal ties to Mississippi politics or politicians. Gray's bid for governor was incited by his belief that incumbent governor Phil Bryant was failing to help improve life in a state where poverty is a persistent problem.^[8] He did not receive any campaign donations during his Democratic primary campaign.^[9]

Explanations for Gray's surprise win ranged from his name appearing first on the ballot to the fact that he was the only man on the ballot running against two women.^[10]

Gray was featured on the Today Show on September 11, 2015.^[11] He stated his campaign would be focused on education, healthcare, and infrastructure.^[12] On Bryant, Gray said, "He’s conservative when it comes to supporting our state but he can spend millions of dollars in a campaign. If he had done his job, he wouldn’t need to spend so much money."^[13] In October 2015 he stated that "[he had] God on his side" and pointed to the biblical story of David and Goliath in order to illustrate his campaign.^[14]

The gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2015.^[15] Gray lost the election to incumbent Phil Bryant, with 32.1% of the vote compared to Bryant's 66.6%.

Polling

In a poll administered in October 2015, Gray received 28% of poll votes compared to Phil Bryant's 66% and Reform candidate Shawn O'Hara's 1%. 5% of those polled were undecided.^[16]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Phil Bryant (R)	Robert Gray (D)	Shawn O'Hara (Ref)	Undecided
Mason-Dixon	October 21–25, 2015	625	± 4%	66%	28%	1%	5%

Electoral history

Gray won 79 out of Mississippi's 82 counties in the 2015 Democratic primary.^[17] Gray's campaign manager was his sister Angela.^[18]

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 2015

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Gray	147,043	50.9
	Democratic	Vicki Slater	87,405	30.3
	Democratic	Valerie Short	54,238	18.8
Total votes			288,686	100

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2015

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Bryant (Incumbent)	472,197	66.6%
	Democratic	Robert Gray	227,400	32.1%
	Reform	Shawn O'Hara	9,835	1.4%
Total votes			709,222	100%

References

1. "2015 Democratic Primary". Retrieved August 24, 2015.
2. "Mississippi goes cray-cray for Gray".
3. "Robert Gray Wins Democratic Primary for Governor".
4. Legal Reader Staff (September 8, 2015). "The Anti-Trump: Mississippi's Shy Truck-Driving Black Candidate for Governor". Legal Reader. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
5. Nave, R. L. (November 2, 2015). "Robert Gray's Mom: I Always Wanted Him to Run for Gov.". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
6. Nave, R. L. (August 5, 2015). "Robert Gray in (Truck) Driver's Seat to Challenge Gov. Phil Bryant". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
7. Lawler, David (September 8, 2015). "Shy truck driver wins shock nomination for Mississippi governor". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
8. "Robert Gray doesn't vote, wins Mississippi Democratic Governor nomination".
9. "This Major-Party Nominee's Not In The Pocket Of Big Donors. Or Any Donors". Retrieved August 24, 2015.
10. "Rethink Mississippi: How Robert Gray's upset was more than a century in making".
11. "Truck driver wins nomination for governor – without a campaign". Today.
12. Jones, Quentis. "Gubernatorial Candidate Robert Gray Makes Campaign Stop in Pine Belt". WDAM-TV 7.
13. "Robert Gray for Governor".
14. Ledger, Clarion (October 27, 2015). "Democrat gubernatorial candidate Gray: "I have God on my side"". Y'all Politics. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
15. "Mississippi Democrats set for another shellacking".
16. Mason-Dixon
17. "Shy trucker emerges as Democrats' pick for Mississippi governor".
18. Tubwell, Jennifer. "Robert Gray Outlines His Plans to take Governor's Seat". WXXV25.

External links

Campaign website

• Robert Gray for Governor