Political party Democratic Name Robert Gray Party Democratic Party | Religion Christianity Role American politician | |
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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. He operates a truck company known as Fancy Horse Transportation, Inc.
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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. Gray attended Provine High School in Jackson. He worked as a truck driver and was formerly a firefighter.
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. He did not receive any campaign donations during his Democratic primary campaign.
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.
Gray was featured on the Today Show on September 11, 2015. He stated his campaign would be focused on education, healthcare, and infrastructure. 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." 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.
The gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2015. 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.
Electoral history
Gray won 79 out of Mississippi's 82 counties in the 2015 Democratic primary. Gray's campaign manager was his sister Angela.