1962 Alabama gubernatorial election

none related races 1962 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1962 Alabama gubernatorial election Alabama presidential No 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election 1958 1966 Alabama gubernatorial election 1966 November 6, 1962 George Wallace (D-AL) (3x4).jpg 0.6 George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 303,987 96.27% Frank P. Walls Independent 11,789 3.73% Governor John M. Patterson Democratic Party (United States) George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 1962 Alabama gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 250px County resultsWallace: #3933e5 80–90% #0d056c >90% The 1962 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1962. Incumbent Democrat John Malcolm Patterson was term limited and could not seek a second consecutive term. Democratic Party nomination At this time Alabama was de facto one-party state. Every Democratic Party nominee felt safe. The real contest for governor took place during this party's primaries. Incumbent Governor John M. Patterson was barred from seeking a second consecutive term. Candidates Albert Boutwell, Lieutenant Governor Bull Connor, Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Jim Folsom, former Governor Ryan DeGraffenried Sr., State Representative MacDonald Gallion, Attorney General J. Bruce Henderson Wayne Jennings George Wallace, former Circuit Judge and former State Representative Among three main contenders – Folsom, DeGraffenried and Wallace – the former two were considered to be progressive or moderate. Folsom, who served as Governor from 1947 to 1951 and again from 1955 to 1959, was one of the first Southern chief executives who spoke out in favor of desegregation and voting rights for any African Americans, which led to him frequently clashing with the Legislature on a number of issues.http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_folsom.html Alabama Department of Archives and History: Alabama Governors--James Elisha "Big Jim" Folsom 2009-02-23 2011-01-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20110102232657/http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_folsom.html deadhttp://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1423 James e. "Big Jim" Folsom Sr. (1947-51, 1955-59) DeGraffenried also ran as a moderate, especially on the race issues.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=42328 Our Campaigns - Candidate - Ryan de Graffenried Wallace, who lost a close primary to Patterson in 1958, ran that year as a Folsom-style moderate (he was indeed a close Folsom ally), and even received the official NAACP endorsement, while Patterson ran as a strong segregationist, accepting the official Ku Klux Klan endorsement. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wallace/filmmore/transcript/index.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20000820085445/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wallace/filmmore/transcript/index.html 2000-08-20 The American Experience George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire Program Transcript PBS After he lost in 1958, Wallace adopted a strong segregationist stance as well in order to secure votes.http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2000-03/wallace.html Racism to Redemption: The Path of George Wallace 2009-02-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20090117154628/http://www.neh.gov///news/humanities/2000-03/wallace.html 2009-01-17 dead Results In the primary, held on May 1, Wallace finished first but failed to win a majority. Folsom and DeGraffenried split the moderate vote, and DeGraffenried, as the second-place finisher, faced Wallace in the runoff. Many believed that a controversial TV appearance, in which Folsom appeared to be seriously drunk, cost him the election. Democratic primary results George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 207,062 32.49 Ryan DeGraffenried Sr. Democratic Party (United States) 160,704 25.22 Jim Folsom Democratic Party (United States) 159,640 25.05 MacDonald Gallion Democratic Party (United States) 80,374 12.61 Bull Connor Democratic Party (United States) 23,019 3.61 J. Bruce Henderson Democratic Party (United States) 3,666 0.58 Wayne Jennings Democratic Party (United States) 1,946 0.31 Albert Boutwell Democratic Party (United States) 862 0.14 637,273 100 Wallace defeated DeGraffenried in the runoff, held on May 29.http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=80042 Our Campaigns - AL Governor - D Runoff Race - May 29, 1962 Democratic runoff results thumb|Primary runoff results by county: #7996e2 Wallace #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d056c >90% #d3bc5f deGraffenried #d3bc5f 50–60% #c8ab37 60–70% George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 340,730 55.87 Ryan DeGraffenried Sr. Democratic Party (United States) 269,122 44.13 609,852 100 Other nominations The Republican Party did not field a candidate. Wallace's sole rival was Frank P. Walls, an independent who was later an Alabama Conservative Party congressional candidate. General election As expected, Wallace won in a landslide. 1962 Alabama gubernatorial electionhttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=79513 AL Governor, 1962 Our Campaigns 17 January 2021 Democratic Party (United States) George Wallace 303,987 96.27 +8.05% Independent politician Frank P. Walls 11,789 3.73 N/A 292,198 92.54 315,776 Democratic Party (United States) References 1962 Alabama Gubernatorial Category:November 1962 in the United States Category:George Wallace