of the past" and denounced him for failing to pass reform legislation. He also attacked him for refusing to release his tax returns, participate in a public debate, and for collecting the governor's salary while serving as acting governor whenever the incumbent was out of the state. Briggs ultimately won with 49.5 percent of the vote. Dye collected 41.5 percent, and Kirksey earned the remainder. The Mississippi constitution stipulated that a statewide race not won by outright majority was to be decided by a vote of the House. Dye encouraged the House to affirm Briggs' victory on the basis that he earned a plurality of the votes. Briggs replaced him on January 9, 1992. Dye was the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Mississippian history. Unlike many of his predecessors and most of his successors, he did not view the office as a platform from which to run for gubernatorial office. Changes were later instituted which placed a two-term limit on the lieutenant governor's office. Later life and death In the 2007 Mississippi gubernatorial election, Dye endorsed Republican candidate Haley Barbour, who was ultimately victorious. In September 2010 he was presented with the Mississippi Medal of Service by Governor Barbour. Dye died of respiratory failure on July 1, 2018 at a hospice in Ridgeland, Mississippi. References Works cited External links Oral History Project 1933 births 2018 deaths Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party Mississippi state senators Lieutenant Governors of Mississippi State treasurers of Mississippi University of Mississippi alumni People from Charleston, Mississippi Mississippi lawyers Deaths from respiratory failure 20th-century American lawyers