1958 Alabama gubernatorial election

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.

1958 Alabama gubernatorial election

November 4, 1958

Nominee John Malcolm 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 Malcolm Patterson Democratic

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.

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

Because none of 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

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

1958 Alabama gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Malcolm Patterson	234,583	88.22
	Republican	William Longshore	30,415	11.44
	Independent	William Jackson	903	0.34
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.

References

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