Carl C. White (born 1888 or 1889; died August 26, 1977)[1] was an American politician who served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1924 to 1928 and as the state auditor of Mississippi from 1928 to 1932.[2] [3]
White announced his campaign for Mississippi state representative in March 1923.[4] He won the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.[5] During his time in the legislature, he was the chairman of the Universities and Colleges Committee.[6]
In August 1926, he announced his intention to run for state auditor of Mississippi.[7] White defeated primary opponent Macey Dinkins by over 40,000 votes,[8] receiving the most votes of any statewide candidate that year.[9] After the primary, auditor-elect White became a pay warrant clerk in the state auditor's office to prepare for the duties of the office.[10] He was unopposed in the general election, and was sworn in as state auditor on January 16, 1928.[11]
White oversaw the collection of a new statewide five-cent per gallon gasoline tax passed by the state legislature in 1929.[12] He threatened to sue the city of Jackson and other cities for refusing to pay the tax.[13]
In September 1929, it was reported that Governor Theodore G. Bilbo requested financial investigations of White, as well as Mississippi secretary of state Walker Wood and state superintendent W. F. Bond.[14] Bilbo's political allies justified the requests as "a thorough house cleaning", while critics alleged that he wanted to amass control of the state departments.[15] In a statement, White welcomed the potential probe, stating that his office was "open at any and all times for probe or inquiry".[16] He was summoned before a joint legislative investigative committee in October 1929, without any specific complaints being filed.[17]
White announced his intention to run for a second term as state auditor on April 21, 1934.[18] He led the first round of the Democratic primary election, receiving 44.5 percent of the vote compared to Carl Craig (34.1 percent) and Grover C. Ballard (21.4 percent).[19] A runoff election between White and Craig was held because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote,[20] with Ballard endorsing White after being eliminated.[21] In the runoff, Craig won with 55.5 percent of the vote, receiving almost 40,000 more votes than White.[22]