Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
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Paul Burney Johnson, Jr. (January 23, 1916 – October 14, 1985) was a Democratic Mississippi politician and son of former Mississippi Governor Paul B. Johnson, Sr..
Between 1948 and 1951, Johnson, Jr. was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. Johnson ran for the governorship in 1947, 1951, and 1955, losing all three times. In 1959 he competed in the election for lieutenant governor and won, serving under segregationist icon Governor Ross Barnett. He played a prominent role in trying to prevent James Meredith from enrolling at Ole Miss in 1962, physically blocking federal marshalls escorting Meredith. Johnson won the governor's race in 1963; however, he had faced the first strong Republican candidate for Mississippi governor, Rubel Phillips, that any Democrat had encountered since Reconstruction. He served as governor until 1968 and largely remained an advocate of "massive resistance" to desegregation.
| Preceded by: Ross R. Barnett | Governor of Mississippi 1964-1968 | Succeeded by: John Bell Williams |