JACKSON (AP) — Black voters will be crucial to choosing a Democratic nominee for Mississippi governor on Tuesday, and while race has not been a central topic of discussion this election season, it has been a strong subtext in a state with a complex history of race relations.

The candidate who led the four-man Democratic primary on Aug. 2 was Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree, 57, who is black and has run a race-neutral campaign by focusing on job creation, education and other issues that touch all segments of society.

Placing second in the primary was Clarksdale attorney and businessman Bill Luckett, 63, who is white. While also discussing broad economic themes, Luckett often reminds audiences that he’s friends with prominent black Mississippians, including the Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman, who has a home in the Delta. Freeman and Luckett are business partners in two Clarksdale ventures — Ground Zero Blues Club and an upscale restaurant called Madidi.

If DuPree wins Tuesday, he would be the first black candidate chosen as a major-party nominee for Mississippi governor in modern times. DuPree became the first black mayor of Hattiesburg when was elected a decade ago. He rarely dwells on such milestones, but has said in interviews that he’s aware race is an issue for some voters.

In a 15-second commercial recently posted to his campaign website, DuPree looks directly into the camera and says: “I’m here to talk to you about color — green.”

DuPree holds up a $1 bill and continues: “Better jobs mean more money for Mississippians. And we do that with better schools and safer streets. More green means a better tomorrow.”

The Democratic nominee for governor advances to the Nov. 8 general election to face the Republican nominee Phil Bryant, the current lieutenant governor. Bryant, so far, has spent $3.1 million on his campaign — more than twice as much as DuPree and Luckett, combined. The current governor, Republican Haley Barbour, is limited to two terms and couldn’t seek re-election.

With a population that’s 37 percent black, Mississippi now has more black elected officials than any state in the nation, but it hasn’t had a black statewide official since Reconstruction. Decades ago, black citizens faced threats, violence and poll taxes for trying to exercise their right to vote. The political structure started to change and black voter participation began to increase after the federal civil rights and voting rights acts became law in the mid-1960s.

Historical voting patterns show that Mississippi counties with significant levels of black population are strongholds for Democrats.

Luckett has appeared at events that attract mostly black audiences, such as commemorations for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

As black and white people lined up to buy hot lunches at a Jackson grocery store deli one recent afternoon, Luckett introduced himself to a potential voter. He shook the man’s hand and handed him a campaign postcard. The Rev. Willie “Dynamite” Albritton stared at the card for a second, then broke into a big smile when he saw the photo of Luckett with Freeman.

Albritton, who’s a car salesman and minister of a Missionary Baptist Church, said later he had decided to vote for Luckett even before meeting the candidate.

“Number one, Morgan Freeman likes him,” Albritton said. “Two, in order to beat Phil Bryant, we need somebody who’s going to draw both Republicans and Democrats, black and white.”

Albritton, who is black, said that because of Mississippi’s voting history, he believes a white Democratic candidate would have a better chance to attract white voters in November.

“We don’t have but one shot to get somebody in the governor’s office on this race. I think he’s going to be able to pull both black and white voters to beat Phil Bryant,” Albritton said of Luckett.

DuPree has been endorsed Mississippi’s most prominent black politician, Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, whose district is mostly in the Delta.

Ridgeland resident Dierdre Payne, a longtime Democrat who is also black, said that when she started paying attention to the gubernatorial campaign more than a year ago, she was a Luckett supporter. Payne said she switched her loyalty to DuPree after reviewing the candidates’ accomplishments and ideas.

“I’m supporting Johnny DuPree because I think he is the best candidate for Mississippi at these times,” said Payne, who moved back to her native Mississippi in 2005 after a career that took her to several states in domestic marketing for an oil company.

“I think he is head and shoulders above the candidates that we have had in this particular election cycle,” Payne said Friday. “The mayor is sharp, the mayor is well educated and he is knowledgeable of the issues. He is a successful public servant.”

The contest between DuPree and Luckett is one of several runoffs being decided Tuesday. Republicans will choose a nominee for state treasurer, and there are runoffs in both parties for legislative and county offices.

The Democratic nominee for governor will face a significant funding challenge in the 11 weeks between the primary runoff and the general election. Campaign finance reports filed this past week show Luckett has spent just over $1 million in his campaign and DuPree has spent $481,716. Bryant had spent $3.1 million by late July.

Bryant won a five-person Republican gubernatorial primary on Aug. 2. Independent Will Oatis of Silver Creek also will be on the general election ballot for governor. Two rival factions of the Reform Party want to put a candidate in the race, but the state Board of Election Commissioners hasn’t yet decided which faction — if either — can put someone on the ballot.