The state of Mississippi has elected the first black man in modern U.S. history to run for governor on a major-party ticket.

Johnny Dupree has secured the Democratic nomination for the governor election in November, the Associated Press reported.

Thank you for your support! Because of you, Mayor DuPree is the Democratic nominee for governor! @dupreeforgov Tweeted.

Mississippi has not had a black statewide official since the United States' post-Civil War Reconstruction period, the AP reported.

Dupree had a runoff against Clarksdale businessman Bill Luckett. He received 145,349 votes to Luckett's 117,996, the Hattiesburg American reported.

Dupree was born in Georgia but moved to Mississippi when he was a small boy, according to his governor election Web site biography. His first job was delivering newspapers when he was 8 years old.

He married his wife, Johniece, when they were both 19. They have two daughters and a grandson.

Dupree was appointed to the Hattiesburg Public School Board in 1987. He started a real estate company with his wife soon after. He was later elected to the Forrest County Board of Supervisors and was a member for 10 years. He was elected mayor of Hattiesburg in 2001.

Dupree will face Republican Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant, 56, of Brandon, Mississippi in the November election.

The AP reported that funding could be a problem for Dupree's campaign, but he did not seem daunted.

We're going to campaign regardless of whether we have a million dollars or half a million dollars, DuPree said, the AP reported.