Charles Clifton Finch (April 4, 1927 – April 22, 1986) was an American politician who served as the 57th governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980.
Early life
Finch was born on April 4, 1927 in the village of Pope in Panola County, Mississippi. He was the eldest of five children of Christine (McMinn) and Carl Finch. His parents were poor farmers. He was educated in Panola County schools and at the age of 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Army. During World War II he served with the 88th Infantry Division in the Italian Campaign as a howitzer gunner. After the war, Finch returned home and attended a school for veterans. He purchased a truck and hauled logs until an economic downturn occurred. He then got a job operating heavy machinery for a construction company in Guam, while also working part-time as a barber. Despite his loss, he continued to make appearances around the state.
Gubernatorial career
Election
Finch ran for the office of Governor of Mississippi in 1975, facing William F. Winter and Maurice Dantin in the Democratic primary. Most political observers initially doubted Finch's chances, and he placed far behind Winter in public polls. He cast himself as "the workingman's candidate"; to do this, he used a lunch pail bearing his name as his campaign symbol and spent one day a week performing a blue collar job, including installing a car engine, pumping fuel, pricing groceries, and driving a bulldozer. He reasoned, "When I sit down and open up my lunch box with that man or that woman who has been working side by side with me, sweating just like me, they know that I am sincere." His one major policy proposal was the creation of a Mississippi Internal Development Assistance System (MIDAS), which entailed coordinated action among state agencies to finance and supply workers to new industries, issue low-interest long-range loans to spur development, and increased marketing to attract outside investment. He shied away from journalists, not holding press conferences and avoiding television interviews. Carmichael drew 47 percent of the vote, a high figure for a statewide Republican candidate at that time. Finch was inaugurated on January 20, 1976.
Executive action
In office, Finch held monthly "work days", whereby he would perform menial jobs to keep in contact with constituents. By the end of his term, his approval ratings were the lowest among any Mississippi public official.
Legislative action
Many of Finch's proposals, including a repeal of the state sales tax on food and drugs, were rebuffed by the legislature. He pushed for an amendment to the state constitution to allow for gubernatorial succession, provoking the ire of leading businessmen and legislators. He convinced the Senate to approve such an amendment but the measure was defeated in the House of Representatives. He signed the act which abolished the State Sovereignty Commission.
Political affairs
At the time Finch took office, the Mississippi Democratic Party was split into two factions: the Regulars and the Loyalists. The split traced back to the 1960s, when black Democrats created the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge segregationist delegations at Democratic National Conventions. The segregationists became the Regulars, while the integrated forces became the Loyalists. Attempts to reconcile the factions in the early 1970s had failed. Following his election, Finch pledged to reunite the two blocs. The factions reached a compromise, whereby a white Regular and a black Loyalist would serve together as co-chairs of the party executive committee.
While still governor, Finch ran for the United States Senate in 1978, but he was defeated in the Democratic party primary by Maurice Dantin, who then lost in the general election to the Republican U.S. Representative Thad Cochran. He was subsequently buried at the Magnolia Cemetery in Batesville. Historian Chris Danielson wrote, "The fusion of the white and black wings of the state Democratic Party was Finch's greatest legacy. This action integrated and modernized the state Democrats and finally led to a shedding of the party's segregationist past."