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1974 Alabama Senate election
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June 2026
1974 Alabama Senate election Alabama legislative no 1970 Alabama Senate election 1970 1978 Alabama Senate election 1978 All 35 seats in the Alabama State Senate 18 November 5, 1974 File:Pierre Pelham.png Pierre Pelham(retired) Democratic Party (United States) 24 p.2 District 24, post 2–MobileNegro Attorney Running in Front In Race For State Legislative Seat https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-mobile-register-negro-attorney-runni/173511087/ 31 May 2025 The Mobile Register Associated Press 4 November 1970(seat abolished) January 12, 1971 35 seats, 76.4% 35 444,377 92.75% 3x4.svg — — — National Democratic 0 seats, 16.7% 0 14,506 3.03% File:1974 Alabama Senate election by vote share.svg District resultsDemocratic: #7996E2 50–60% #6674DE 60–70% #584CDE 70–80% #3933E5 80–90% #0D0596 90–100% #08034a Unopposed President pro tempore Pierre Pelham Democratic Party (United States) Joe Fine Democratic Party (United States)
1974 United States Senate election in Alabama
The 1974 Alabama Senate election took place on Tuesday, November 5, 1974, to elect 35 representatives to serve four-year terms in the Alabama Senate. The result was an electoral shutout, as all 35 candidates elected were members of the Democratic Party. This election was notable for seeing the first two Black Americans elected to the chamber since the Reconstruction era, those being U. W. Clemon and J. Richmond Pearson.
Primaries were held on May 7 with runoffs on June 4. This was the first state senate election in Alabama since a 1973 federal court order mandated a new legislative map with single-member districts. Previously, the state used a mixed system of single-member and multi-member districts to allocate seats in the legislature, all based on pre-existing county lines.Sellers Bill Reapportionment Causes Headaches For Many In State https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-mobile-register/186835285/ 31 May 2025 The Mobile Register 6 February 1974
Summary
Party Candidates SeatsNum.Vote%BeforeWon +/– Democratic 35 444,377 92.75% 35 35 NDPA 5 14,506 3.03% 0 0 Republican 3 11,775 2.46% 0 0 Independents 2 5,233 1.09% 0 0 Conservative 2 3,188 0.67% 0 0 Others 20 0.00% 0 0 Total 47 479,099 100% 35
Incumbents
Re-elected
20em
Dick Owen of Baldwin County ran in the 32nd district and won.
Obie Littleton of Chilton County ran in the 18th district and won.
Crum Foshee of Covington County ran in the 25th district and won.
Walter C. Givhan of Dallas County ran in the 29th district and won.
Joe Fine of Franklin County ran in the 2nd district and won.
Eddie Hubert Gilmore of Jefferson County ran in the 17th district and won.
Bill King of Jefferson County ran in the 7th district and won.
Pat Vacca of Jefferson County ran in the 12th district and won.
L. W. Noonan of Mobile County ran in the 34th district and won.
Richard Shelby of Tuscaloosa County ran in the 16th district and won.
Bobby Weaver of Talladega County ran in the 19th district and won.
Robert Wilson of Walker County ran in the 5th district and won.
Defeated in Democratic primary
20em
Fred Ray Lybrand of Calhoun County ran in the 20th district and lost in the first round.
George Lewis Bailes of Jefferson County ran in the 11th district and lost in the first round.
Doug Cook of Jefferson County ran in the 17th district and lost in the runoff.
Tom Jones of Montgomery County ran in the 27th district and lost in the first round.
L. L. Dozier of Pike County ran in the 23rd district and lost in the runoff.
Robert Wilder of Tallapoosa County ran in the 21st district and lost in the first round.
Did not seek re-election
20em
James S. Clark of Barbour County did not seek re-election.
Don Horne of Chambers County did not seek re-election.
Pat Lindsey of Choctaw County did not seek re-election.
Kenneth Hammond of DeKalb County did not seek re-election.
Richard Malone of Etowah County did not seek re-election.
James A. Branyon of Fayette County did not seek re-election.
Larry Register of Houston County did not seek re-election.
Richard Dominick of Jefferson County did not seek re-election.
John Hawkins of Jefferson County did not seek re-election.
Stewart O'Bannon of Lauderdale County did not seek re-election.
Gene McLain of Madison County did not seek re-election.
Aubrey J. Carr of Marshall County did not seek re-election.
Bob Edington of Mobile County did not seek re-election.
President pro tempore Pierre Pelham of Mobile County did not seek re-election.
J. J. Pierce of Montgomery County did not seek re-election.
Bob Harris of Morgan County did not seek re-election.
Roland Cooper of Wilcox County did not seek re-election.
General election results
District Democratic National Democratic Others Total Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes % Votes Maj. Majority Mrg. Margin 5th Robert Wilson (inc.) 12,548 80.59% — — — Larry Akins (Rep.) 3,023 19.41% 15,571 +9,525 +61.17% 7th Bill King 14,771 92.59% Ernestine Langford 1,182 7.41% — — — 15,953 +13,589 +85.18% 13th J. Richmond Pearson 11,937 84.29% — — — Herbert Stone (Con.) 2,224 15.71% 14,161 +9,713 +68.59% 20th Donald Stewart 13,183 74.95% — — — Margaret E. Stout (Rep.) 4,405 25.05% 17,588 +8,778 +49.91% 23rd T. Dudley Perry 12,529 66.04% Robert Harris 2,097 11.05% Rudolph Shelley (Rep.) 4,347 22.91% 18,973 +8,182 +43.12% 26th Jerry Powell 9,075 55.84% Oscar Cook 1,945 11.97% 2 othersWilliam Hobbie (Ind.): 3,898, 23.98%; J.D. Hogan (Ind.): 1,335, 8.21% 5,233 32.19% 16,253 +5,177 +31.85% 29th Walter C. Givhan (inc.) 15,070 69.90% Amelia Boynton Robinson 6,483 30.07% Haywood F. Stokes (write-in) 7 0.03% 21,560 +8,587 +39.83% 30th Bert Bank 16,481 85.48% Martin Goodson 2,799 14.52% — — — 19,280 +13,682 +70.96% 35th Bill Roberts 13,183 93.19% — — — Charles McDade (Con.) 964 6.81% 14,147 +12,219 +86.37% Source: 1975 Alabama Official and Statistical Register (294–296)Howard Milo B. Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1975 1975 Alabama Department of Archives and History Montgomery, Alabama https://archive.org/details/alabama-official-statistical-register-1975 8 June 2025
Elected unopposed
The following Democratic nominees did not face opposition in the general election:2 incumbent state senators re-elected https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-2-incumbent-state/186835314/ 31 May 2025 Birmingham Post-Herald 7 November 1974
20em
District 1: Ronnie Flippo received 7,578 votes.
District 2: Joe Fine (inc.) received 12,729 votes.
District 3: Bingham Edwards received 9,865 votes.
District 4: Finis St. John received 16,700 votes.
District 6: Albert McDonald received 11,275 votes.
District 8: John Baker (inc.) received 13,104 votes.
District 9: Sid McDonald received 12,112 votes.
District 10: Gerald Waldrop received 13,071 votes.
District 11: George McMillan received 14,935 votes. 1 other vote was recorded.
District 12: Paul Vacca (inc.) received 15,350 votes.
District 14: Bob Ellis received 14,249 votes.
District 15: U. W. Clemon received 9,022 votes. 9 other votes were recorded.
District 16: Richard Shelby (inc.) received 10,626 votes.
District 17: Eddie Hubert Gilmore (inc.) received 16,829 votes.
District 18: Obie Littleton (inc.) received 14,707 votes.
District 19: Robert Weaver (inc.) received 11,274 votes. 1 other vote was recorded.
District 21: Ted Little received 10,489 votes.
District 22: C. C. Torbert received 8,436 votes.
District 24: Sam Adams received 8,475 votes.
District 25: Crum Foshee (inc.) received 12,802 votes.
District 27: Fred Jones received 14,899 votes.
District 28: Wendell Mitchell received 14,471 votes.
District 31: Maston Mims received 13,238 votes.
District 32: Dick Owen (inc.) received 15,448 votes.
District 33: Mike Perloff received 7,125 votes.
District 34: L. W. Noonan (inc.) received 16,791 votes.
Democratic primary results
Runoff results by district
Candidates in boldface advanced to the general election. An asterisk (*) denotes a runoff winner who was the runner-up in the first round.
Senator Bobby Weaver initially faced a runoff in District 19 against Frank Finch, but Finch withdrew from the race, allowing Weaver to advance to the general election, where he went unopposed.Finch pulls out of senate runoff https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-anniston-star-finch-pulls-out-of-sen/173519913/ 31 May 2025 The Anniston Star May 17, 1974
District Winner Loser Total Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes % Votes Maj. Majority Mrg. Margin 3rd Bingham Edwards* 13,547 60.62% Joe Calvin 8,801 39.38% 22,348 +4,746 +21.24% 6th Albert McDonald 7,157 53.41% Granville Turner 6,244 46.59% 13,401 +913 +6.81% 13th J. Richmond Pearson 8,456 61.27% Thomas L. Alexander 5,346 38.73% 13,802 +3,110 +22.53% 14th Robert Ellis 7,893 55.90% Johnny Nichols 6,227 44.10% 14,120 +1,666 +11.80% 17th Eddie Hubert Gilmore 9,902 51.26% Doug Cook 9,417 48.74% 19,319 +485 +2.51% 23rd Dudley Perry 14,544 56.41% L. L. Dozier 11,238 43.59% 25,782 +3,306 +12.82% 31st Maston Mims* 11,589 51.65% W. E. Garrett 10,850 48.35% 22,439 +739 +3.29% 32nd Dick Owen 11,356 51.85% Robert Gulledge 10,547 48.15% 21,903 +809 +3.69% 33rd Mike Perloff 6,331 51.60% James E. Buskey 5,938 48.40% 12,269 +393 +3.20% 35th Bill Roberts 9,792 58.65% Casey Downing 6,903 41.35% 16,695 +2,889 +17.30% Source: The Birmingham NewsFox Al Here's what official vote count to show https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-heres-what-official/173519347/ 31 May 2025 The Birmingham News June 11, 1974
First round results by district
Candidates in boldface advanced to either the general election or a runoff, first-place winners with an asterisk (*) did not face a runoff.
District First place Runners-up Others Total Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes % Votes Maj. Majority Mrg. Margin 3rd Joe Calvin 6,907 32.16% Bingham Edwards 6,701 31.21% 2 othersDon Tomlinson: 4,918, 22.90%
Dewayne Cameron: 2,948, 13.73% 7,866 36.63% 21,474 +206 +0.96% 5th Robert Wilson* 11,144 59.77% Doug Adams 7,500 40.23% — — — 18,644 +3,644 +19.55% 6th Albert McDonald 6,137 37.63% Granville Turner 5,522 33.86% Charles Sullins 4,648 28.50% 16,307 +615 +3.77% 7th Bill King* 9,823 56.33% Charles Grainger 7,614 43.67% — — — 17,437 +2,209 +12.67% 8th John Baker* 11,348 64.53% W. R. Inman 6,237 35.47% — — — 17,585 +5,111 +29.06% 9th Sid McDonald 10,180 47.62% Woodie Shelton 3,174 14.85% 3 othersB. B. Sanford: 3,059, 14.31%
B. E. McPherson: 2,589, 12.11%
Roger Southerland: 2,376 11.11% 8,024 37.53% 21,378 +7,006 +32.77% 10th Gerald Waldrop* 12,830 50.21% Les Gilliland 8,105 31.72% Robert Lewis 4,620 18.08% 25,555 +4,725 +18.49% 11th George McMillan* 9,992 50.58% George Lewis Bailes 9,764 49.42% — — — 19,756 +228 +1.15% 12th Pat Vacca* 10,824 62.12% James K. Watley 6,601 37.88% — — — 17,425 +4,223 +24.24% 13th J. Richmond Pearson 5,458 34.04% Thomas L. Alexander 3,756 23.43% 4 othersDick Shamburger: 2,213, 13.80%
Paul Thomason: 2,028, 12.65%
Al Thomas: 1,698, 10.59%
Hiram Crawford: 880, 5.49% 6,819 42.53% 16,033 +1,702 +10.62% 14th Robert Ellis 7,967 44.39% Johnny Nichols 5,209 29.02% E. C. Reese 4,771 26.58% 17,947 +2,758 +15.37% 17th Eddie Hubert Gilmore 9,127 42.48% Doug Cook 6,840 31.84% Tom Stubbs 5,516 25.68% 21,483 +2,287 +10.65% 18th Obie Littleton* 11,640 54.60% Lister Hill Proctor 9,679 45.40% — — — 21,319 +1,961 +9.20% 19th Bobby Weaver 8,285 49.21% Frank Finch 4,492 26.68% Allen Hudson 4,060 24.11% 16,837 +3,793 +22.53% 20th Donald Stewart* 15,076 67.28% Fred Ray Lybrand 7,333 32.72% — — — 22,409 +7,743 +34.55% 21st T. D. Little* 12,340 55.36% Robert Wilder 9,952 44.64% — — — 22,292 +2,388 +10.71% 22nd C. C. Torbert Jr.* 10,947 64.82% Charles Adams 5,942 35.18% — — — 16,889 +5,005 +29.63% 23rd Dudley Perry 10,507 44.87% L. L. Dozier 9,880 42.19% K. H. Walker 3,029 12.94% 23,416 +627 +2.68% 24th Sam Adams* 12,496 78.71% Mack Rudd 3,380 21.29% — — — 15,876 +9,116 +57.42% 25th Crum Foshee 13,374 53.45% Harold Wise 11,649 46.55% — — — 25,023 +1,725 +6.89% 26th Jerry Powell* 9,768 65.47% Oscar David Cook 5,152 34.53% — — — 14,920 +4,616 +30.94% 27th Fred Jones* 10,555 51.64% Tom Jones 9,885 48.36% — — — 20,440 +670 +3.28% 28th Wendell Mitchell* 16,301 73.67% Robert Austin 5,825 26.33% — — — 22,126 +10,476 +47.35% 29th Walter C. Givhan* 16,988 57.83% J. L. Chestnut 12,390 42.17% — — — 29,378 +4,598 +15.65% 30th Bert Bank* 15,511 67.01% William Lang 7,638 32.99% — — — 23,149 +7,873 +34.01% 31st W. E. Garrett 8,640 36.65% Maston Mims 7,460 31.65% 2 othersErnest Jackson: 5,623, 23.85%
Henry Welch: 1,850, 7.85% 7,473 31.70% 23,573 +1,180 +5.01% 32nd Dick Owen 9,900 45.07% Robert Gulledge 7,703 35.07% Percy Beech 4,363 19.86% 21,966 +2,197 +10.00% 33rd Mike Perloff 4,255 32.98% James E. Buskey 3,560 27.59% 2 othersHenry Rembert: 2,629, 20.38%
Arnold L. Black: 2,459, 19.06% 5,088 39.43% 12,903 +695 +5.39% 35th Bill Roberts 6,690 45.98% Casey Downing 5,884 40.44% Nelson Burnett 1,975 13.57% 14,549 +806 +5.54% Source: The Birmingham NewsFox Al Only 13 state senators have chance of returning next year https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news/173518469/ 31 May 2025 The Birmingham News May 14, 1974
See also
1974 United States Senate election in Alabama
1974 Alabama gubernatorial election
List of Alabama state legislatures
Notes
References
Senate
Category:Alabama Senate elections
Alabama Senate
Category:November 1974 elections in the United States