1958 Alabama gubernatorial election

1958 Alabama gubernatorial election

← 1954 November 4, 1958 1962 →

Nominee John M. Patterson William Longshore Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 234,583 30,415 Percentage 88.22% 11.44%

County results Patterson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election Jim Folsom Democratic Elected Governor John M. Patterson Democratic

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The 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1958. Incumbent Democrat Jim Folsom was term limited and could not seek a second consecutive term.

Democratic Party nomination[]

At this time Alabama was a de facto one-party state. Because of this, every Democratic Party nominee was considered safe for election. The real contest for governor took place during the primary.

Popular incumbent Governor Jim Folsom, a racial moderate, was barred from running for reelection, as Governors could not succeed themselves at the time. Therefore, the Democratic primary was an open contest.

Candidates[]

• Laurie C. Battle, U.S. Representative
• John G. Crommelin, retired Rear Admiral
• W. E. Dodd
• Shearen Elebash
• Jimmy Faulkner, former State Senator and former Mayor of Bay Minette
• James Gulatte
• Karl Harrison
• George C. Hawkins, State Representative
• C. C. Owen
• John Malcolm Patterson, Attorney General
• Shorty Price
• A. W. Todd, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
• Billy Walker
• George Wallace, Third Judicial Circuit Judge and former State Representative

The two front-runners, Patterson and Wallace, held deeply different positions on racial segregation issues. While Patterson, known primarily as crime-fighting attorney general, ran on a very segregationist platform and accepted an official endorsement from Ku Klux Klan, Wallace, a close ally of Folsom, refused to cooperate with the KKK and was endorsed by the NAACP.

Primary results[]

Primaries were held on June 3, 1958.

Runoff[]

Because none of candidates won a majority, a runoff was held on June 24, 1958, in order to determine which candidate received the nomination.

Republican Party nomination[]

William Longshore, a former Republican Party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives from the 9th district (lost, winning 34.12% votes) won the gubernatorial nomination unopposed.

General election[]

After his defeat, George Wallace, who was a racial moderate, modified his public position in order to gain the white support necessary to win the next election.

References[]

http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=80047