27 Facts About George Nigh

George Patterson Nigh was born on June 9,1927 and is an American politician and civic leader from the US state of Oklahoma.

George Nigh was the first Oklahoma governor to be re-elected and the first to win all 77 counties in the state.

Additionally, short term vacancies in the governor's office twice resulted in George Nigh assuming gubernatorial duties while serving as lieutenant governor.

Since the death of John M Patterson of Alabama in June 2021, Nigh has been the earliest-serving living former American governor, having first served as governor of Oklahoma in 1963.

George Nigh served in the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946 and graduated from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma, in 1951.

George Nigh had remained a bachelor until after he left public office for the first time.

George Nigh met his future wife, Donna Mashburn, following his initial nine-day term as governor in 1963 and married her on October 19,1963.

From 1951 to 1959, George Nigh alternated between service in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as a teacher in the McAlester public schools.

George Nigh ran for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 1958; he finished second in the Democratic primary behind Cowboy Pink Williams with 80,727 votes to Williams' 176,171 votes.

George Nigh defeated Williams in the runoff with 302,050 votes to 190,530.

George Nigh served from January 12,1959, to January 3,1963.

Democratic Governor J Howard Edmondson did not seek reelection in the 1962 election, so Nigh ran to succeed him.

George Nigh came fourth in the Democratic primary with 84,404 votes, behind National Commander of the American Legion Preston J Moore, businessman W P Atkinson and former governor Raymond Gary.

Atkinson went on to win the runoff and lose the general election to Republican Henry Bellmon, but George Nigh would get a chance to serve as governor.

Democratic US Senator Robert S Kerr died in office on January 1,1963, and Edmondson resigned his office 5 days later; Nigh succeeded him as governor for the remaining days of the term only to appoint him to the vacant Senate seat.

George Nigh was unopposed in the Democratic primary in that election and his re-election efforts, winning in 1966 with 328,580 votes ; in 1970 with 382,249 votes and in 1974 with 545,686 votes.

George Nigh served as the tenth lieutenant governor from January 9,1967, to January 3,1979, making him the second longest-serving Oklahoma lieutenant governor in state history with 16 years of service.

When incumbent governor David Boren chose not to seek reelection, George Nigh ran for Governor again in 1978.

George Nigh came first in the Democratic primary with 276,910 votes, narrowly short of avoiding a runoff against Oklahoma Attorney General Larry Derryberry, who took 208,055 votes.

However, in the runoff, George Nigh defeated him easily, with 269,681 votes to Derryberry's 197,457.

George Nigh defeated Republican Ron Shotts in the general election with 402,240 votes to Shotts' 367,055 and thereby became the first Oklahoma Governor to serve a second term.

George Nigh took office five days early, as a result of outgoing Governor David Boren's swearing-in as a US Senator.

George Nigh ran for a second term in 1982 becoming the third governor to do so, and defeated token opposition in the Democratic primary with 379,301 votes as well as Republican State Auditor Tom Daxon in the general election by 548,159 votes to 332,207, carrying all 77 of the state's counties.

George Nigh appointed the George Nigh Commission to recommend changes to state government.

George Nigh signed into law the Oklahoma Franchise Tax Code, which established the franchise tax in Oklahoma.

George Nigh is credited with increasing the numbers of minorities serving on state boards and commissions, as well as management of state agencies.

George Nigh appointed the first two women, Yvonne Kauger and Alma Wilson to serve as Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.