Edythe Evelyn Gandy (September 4, 1920 – December 23, 2007) was an American attorney and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980.

Following an unsuccessful campaign for the office of lieutenant governor in 1963, Gandy was appointed State Welfare Board commissioner.

In 1975 she ran a successful campaign to be elected lieutenant governor, thus becoming the first woman to serve in that role in Mississippi and in the Southern United States.

[8] Following graduation from law school, Gandy sought to join the United States armed forces during World War II, but was disqualified due to nearsightedness.

[9] During her employment Bilbo published a book detailing his views on racial segregation, entitled Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization.

"[16] One of her opponents, Lawrence D. Arrington, published an ad which asked "Do you believe that the legislative affairs of Forrest County can best be handled by a man or a woman?

[19][20] She closed her law practice to focus on her legislative duties[11] but in September became a legal researcher for the State Department of Public Welfare.

[21] In the House, Gandy was assigned to the ways and means, judiciary, eleemosynary institutions, colleges and universities, and claims committees.

[26] After losing a bid for re-election to her House seat in the 1951 Democratic primary to Donald Colmer,[27] Gandy became director of the Division of Legal Services in the Department of Public Welfare, where she served until she announced her resignation in February 1959,[28] effective March 31.

[41][42] Facing no opposition in the Democratic primary or general election, Gandy was re-elected as State Treasurer[41][43] and served again from 1968 to 1972.

[46] Since she was the highest-ranking woman politician in the state, the media frequently asked her about the ERA, and she told The Clarion Ledger, "I personally favor it.

[51] With her term as insurance commissioner coming to a close, Gandy declared herself a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor in 1975.

[46] She repeated her promise from 1963 that she would treat the position as "full time" and also called for government restructuring and campaign finance reform.

In the general election she faced Republican Bill Patrick, whom she defeated with 70 percent of the vote,[53] thus becoming the first woman to serve as lieutenant governor in Mississippi and in the Southern United States.

[55] As lieutenant governor, Gandy presided over the Mississippi State Senate, which during her tenure comprised 52 male members.

[57] Under internal party pressure, she reappointed William G. Burgin as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee despite suspicions that he was misappropriating funds.

[61] Gandy otherwise maintained good relationships with committee chairmen during her tenure, though her critics attacked her as a defender of the status quo.

[44][63] She and Aaron Henry co-chaired the state's delegation to the 1976 Democratic National Convention and supported the nomination of Jimmy Carter as the party's presidential candidate.

[55] Gandy sought the office of Governor of Mississippi in the 1979 election, campaigning on a platform of economic growth and government reform.

[66] To capitalize on the latter factor, Winter's campaign organization attempted to craft an image of "toughness" for him, and released television commercials that showed him posing with tanks at Camp Shelby and firing a gun at a Mississippi Highway Patrol weapons range.

[68] Gandy subsequently rejected an offer from Winter to take a position in his administration,[69] but several months later was hired as the director of the Office of Human Resources Planning in the Department of Mental Health.

[71] Gandy ran again for gubernatorial office in 1983, facing Attorney General William Allain, businessman Mike Sturdivant, and two other candidates in the Democratic primary.

[74] Her platform included education reform, controlling unemployment, expanding the National Guard, improved benefits for the elderly and disabled, and opposition to in-state radioactive waste disposal.

[75] Her opponents attacked her by linking her to her previous segregationist positions, with leaflets and a reprint of a 1963 ad showing her connections to Senator Bilbo distributed.

Gandy initially reacted by expressing dismay at the strategy, before saying in a press conference that "[d]efense of segregation 20, 30, or 40 years ago was wrong" and that her previous statements "certainly do not reflect" her current views on race.

[77] Journalist Bill Minor later said of Gandy, "She was a victim of the syndrome in Mississippi that women would not be elevated to high political office.

[44][79] The McCain Library and Archives maintains a collection of press clippings, speeches, photographs, and personal effects spanning her career.

[87] Her death in 2007 spawned numerous laudatory obituaries which praised her as the first woman to serve in several offices and framed her as a public servant "committed to the common people".