1958 Alabama gubernatorial election

The 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958. Incumbent Democrat Jim Folsom was term limited and could not seek a second consecutive term.

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:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election

Jim Folsom
Democratic

Elected Governor

John M. Patterson
Democratic

Democratic Party nomination

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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

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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 the Ku Klux Klan, Wallace, a close ally of Folsom, refused to cooperate with the KKK and was endorsed by the NAACP.

After the election, aide Seymore Trammell recalled Wallace saying, "Seymore, you know why I lost that governor's race? ... I was outniggered by John Patterson. And I'll tell you here and now, I will never be outniggered again."[a]

Primary results

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Primaries were held on June 3, 1958.

Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John Malcolm Patterson 196,859 31.82
Democratic George Wallace 162,435 26.26
Democratic Jimmy Faulkner 91,512 14.79
Democratic A. W. Todd 59,240 9.58
Democratic Laurie C. Battle 38,955 6.30
Democratic George C. Hawkins 24,332 3.93
Democratic C. C. Owen 15,270 2.47
Democratic Karl Harrison 12,488 2.02
Democratic Billy Walker 7,963 1.29
Democratic W. E. Dodd 4,753 0.77
Democratic John G. Crommelin 2,245 0.36
Democratic Shearen Elebash 1,177 0.19
Democratic James Gulatte 798 0.13
Democratic Shorty Price 655 0.11
Total votes 618,682 100.00

Runoff

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

Democratic primary runoff results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John Malcolm Patterson 315,353 55.74
Democratic George Wallace 250,451 44.27
Total votes 565,804 100

Republican Party nomination

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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

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1958 Alabama gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John Malcolm Patterson 234,583 88.22 +14.85%
Republican William Longshore 30,415 11.44 −15.19%
Independent William Jackson 903 0.34 N/A
Majority 204,168
Turnout 265,901 76.78
Democratic hold

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.

Notes

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  1. ^ Carter (1996, p. 2) notes that Wallace later denied a similar quotation that appeared in a 1968 biography by Marshall Frady: "'Well boys,' he said tightly as he snuffed out his cigar, 'no other son-of-a-bitch will ever out-nigger me again.'"[1]

References

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  1. ^ Riechers, Maggie (March–April 2000). "Racism to Redemption: The Path of George Wallace". Humanities. 21 (2). Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2006.
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