1970 Alabama gubernatorial election

none related races 1970 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1970 Alabama gubernatorial election Alabama presidential no 1966 Alabama gubernatorial election 1966 1974 Alabama gubernatorial election 1974 November 3, 1970 George C Wallace (cropped).jpg George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 637,046 74.51% John L. Cashin Jr (cropped).jpg John L. Cashin Jr. National Democratic Party of Alabama 125,491 14.68% File:A. C. Shelton.jpg A. C. Shelton Independent 75,679 8.85% 1970 Alabama gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 250px County resultsWallace: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d0596 >90%Cashin Jr.: #87dede 40–50% #5fd3d3 50–60% #37c8c8 60–70% Governor Albert Brewer Democratic Party (United States) George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) The 1970 Alabama gubernatorial election was marked by a competitive Democratic primary battle between incumbent moderate Governor Albert Brewer and segregationist former governor and 1968 independent presidential candidate George Wallace. The Alabama Constitution was amended in 1968, allowing a governor to serve two consecutive terms. Democratic primary Candidates Albert Brewer, incumbent Governor Coleman Brown Asa Carter, Ku Klux Klan leader and former Wallace speechwriter Jim Folsom, former Governor Ralph "Shorty" Price, perennial candidate George Wallace, former Governor Charles Woods, businessman Campaign Despite Wallace's popularity, Brewer was seen as an early front-runner. Brewer, who had been elected lieutenant governor in 1966, had become governor after the death of Governor Lurleen Wallace, George's wife. A moderate, he became the first gubernatorial candidate since Reconstruction to openly court black voters.Rogers, William Warren, et al. Alabama: The History of a Deep South State. Tuscaloosa; The University of Alabama Press, 1994, 576. Brewer, hoping to build a broad alliance between blacks and white working class voters, unveiled a progressive platform and accused Wallace of spending too much time outside the state, saying "Alabama needs a full-time governor.".http://www.steveflowers.us/columns/101205.htm Steve Flowers Inside the Statehouse 2006-10-25 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070928125855/http://www.steveflowers.us/columns/101205.htm 2007-09-28 Flowers, Steve, "Steve Flowers Inside the Statehouse", October 12, 2005 Republican President Richard Nixon endorsed Brewer in order to break Wallace's political career and secure Deep South votes for himself in the next presidential election.Rawls Phillip 3 January 2017 Former Alabama Gov. Albert Brewer dies at 88 https://apnews.com/article/c89452bc59cc46209f6a95262dc0b62b 14 November 2021 Associated PressKornacki, Steve (2011-05-09) Rick Santorum and the problem with the "loser" label https://web.archive.org/web/20110511111949/http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/05/09/santorum_loser/index.html May 11, 2011, Salon.com It was later discovered that Nixon had directed his reelection campaign to donate $400,000 to Brewer in secret cash payments.Flowers Steve Feb 26, 2009 Brewer vs. Wallace: Pivotal battle in Alabama political history https://www.southeastsun.com/opinion/article_79d221fe-585a-5b58-be05-2511d0fad642.html January 2026 InternetArchiveBot Wallace, whose presidential ambitions would have been destroyed with a defeat, ran a very aggressive and dirty campaign using racist rhetoric while proposing few original ideas of his own.Warren, 576 The Wallace campaign aired TV ads with slogans such as "Do you want the black block electing your governor?" and circulated an ad showing a white girl surrounded by seven black boys, with the slogan "Wake Up Alabama! Blacks vow to take over Alabama." Rawls, Phillip, "Book Rates George Wallace's '70 campaign as the nastiest", Decatur Daily, March 5, 2006 Wallace called Brewer a sissyRawls, March 5, 2005 and promised not to run for president a third time.Flowers, 2005 Primary results thumb|Democratic primary first round results by county Brewer: #cedad2 30–40% #b8c7be 40–50% #93AC9D 50–60% #6F917C 60–70% Wallace: #d7c7f0 30–40% #c3aae9 40–50% #AA87DE 50–60% #8D5FD3 60–70% |center Democratic primary results Albert Brewer (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 428,146 41.98 George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 416,443 40.84 Charles Woods Democratic Party (United States) 149,987 14.71 Asa Carter Democratic Party (United States) 15,441 1.51 Jim Folsom Democratic Party (United States) 4,123 0.40 Coleman Brown Democratic Party (United States) 2,836 0.28 Shorty Price Democratic Party (United States) 2,804 0.28 1,019,780 100 Runoff Despite Brewer's victory in the first round, he failed to win a majority and was forced into a runoff with Wallace.thumb|Democratic primary runoff results by county Wallace: #AA87DE 50–60% #8D5FD3 60–70% #7137C8 70–80% Brewer: #93AC9D 50–60% #6F917C 60–70% #536C5D 70–80%|center Democratic runoff results George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 559,832 51.56 Albert Brewer (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 525,951 48.44 1,085,783 100 General election Endorsements A. C. Shelton (I) Newspaper Birmingham Post-HeraldBirmingham Paper Backs A.C. Shelton https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-opelika-auburn-news-birmingham-paper/176260601/ 9 July 2025 Opelika-Auburn News Associated Press 29 October 1970 Results At the time, the Democratic primary in Alabama was regarded as more important than the general election, as Alabama was still essentially a one-party state in non-presidential elections. The Republican Party did not field a candidate, and Wallace easily won the general election. 1970 Alabama gubernatorial election George Wallace Democratic Party (United States) 637,046 74.51 John L. Cashin Jr. National Democratic Party of Alabama 125,491 14.68 A. C. Shelton Independent 75,679 8.85 Jerome B. Couch Prohibition Party 9,705 1.14 Menter G. Walker Independent 3,534 0.41 John Watts Whig Party (United States) 3,497 0.41 854,952 100 Democratic Party (United States) See also Governor of Alabama References http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=79753 1970 Gubernatorial Alabama Category:November 1970 elections in the United States Category:George Wallace