1958 Georgia gubernatorial election

The 1958 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958.

1958 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary

September 10, 1958

Nominee Ernest Vandiver William Bodenhamer Lee Roy Abernathy Party Democratic Democratic Democratic Electoral vote 400 10 0 Popular vote 499,477 87,830 33,099 Percentage 80.51% 14.16% 5.34%

County Results Vandiver:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%      >90% Bodenhamer:      50-60%

Governor before election Marvin Griffin Democratic Elected Governor Ernest Vandiver Democratic

Lieutenant Governor Ernest Vandiver won the Democratic primary on September 10 with 80.51% of the vote and 400 out of 410 county unit votes. At this time, Georgia was a one-party state, and the Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory. Vandiver won the November general election without an opponent.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Lee Roy Abernathy, Southern gospel singer
• William T. Bodenhamer, Baptist preacher and state legislator from Ty Ty
• Ernest Vandiver, Lieutenant Governor of Georgia[1]

Campaign

Bodenhamer ran a "biblical segregationist" campaign[1] aligned with incumbent Governor Marvin Griffin, whom Vandiver had alienated during their term together.[2] He opened his campaign by showing pictures of Vandiver between two Negro politicians and said, "Birds of a feather flock together."[2] He accused Vandiver of being "the candidate of the NAACP."[1] Vandiver responded by promising that "no, not one" black would be admitted to Georgia's white schools.[1]

Lee Roy Abernaty, a gospel singer from Canton who frequently appeared on Atlanta television, also ran on a platform promising to diminish the powers of the governor and make monthly television reports to the people of Georgia.[2]

Results

1962 Democratic primary[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ernest Vandiver	499,477	80.51%
	Democratic	William T. Bodenhamer	87,830	14.16%
	Democratic	Lee Roy Abernathy	33,099	5.34%
	Democratic	All others (write-in)	3	0.00%
Total votes			620,409	100.00%

In the decisive county unit count, Vandiver won 400 out of 410 votes, with Bodenhamer winning the remaining ten.[4] This was the last primary election held under the county unit rule, which was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in Gray v. Sanders.

General election results

1958 Georgia gubernatorial election[5][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ernest Vandiver	168,414	100.00%

References

1. "The Georgia Baptist Convention and Desegregation, 1945–80". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 83 (4): 697. Winter 1999.
2. The Madera Tribune. 8 Sep 1858. p. 6. Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=383045
4. Compiled by Mrs. Mary Givens Bryan, Director (1958). Georgia's Official Register, 1957-1958. Atlanta, GA: State of Georgia, Department of Archives and History. p. 728.
5. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=174218
6. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-598