Georgia gubernatorial election, 1966

The Georgia gubernatorial election of 1966 was held on November 8. After an election that exposed divisions within the Georgia Democratic Party (giving the Georgia Republican Party a shot at the Governor's Mansion for the first time in the twentieth century), segregationist Democrat Lester Maddox was elected Governor of Georgia by the Georgia General Assembly. The race also brought future President Jimmy Carter to statewide prominence for the first time.

Democratic nomination

Former Governor Ernest Vandiver was considered the favorite to return to his former job (although governors could not then succeed themselves, they could run again after leaving office), but he dropped out of the race because of health problems.That opened the door for former Gov. Ellis Arnall, former Lt. Gov. Garland T. Byrd, state Senator Jimmy Carter, and two segregationist businessmen, Lester Maddox and James H. Gray, Sr., to run for the Democratic nomination. [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/GovernmentPolitics/Politics/PoliticalIssuesandControversies&id=h-596 New Georgia Encyclopedia] ]

Democratic primary election results

Arnall won the first primary, but because no candidate received a majority, he and Maddox were forced into a runoff.

Primary (Sept. 14, 1966) [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=382413 OurCampaigns.com: GA Governor, 1966 D primary] ] :
*Arnall: 231,480 (29.38%)
*Maddox: 185,672 (23.56%)
*Carter: 164,562 (20.89%)
*Gray: 152,973 (19.41%)
*Byrd: 39,994 (5.08%)

Runoff (Sept. 28, 1966) [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=376040 OurCampaigns.com: GA Governor, 1966 D Runoff] ] :
*Maddox: 443,055 (54.29%)
*Arnall: 373,004 (45.71%)

Lieutenant Governor

State House Speaker George T. Smith was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, after he defeated incumbent Peter Zack Geer in the primary. He went on to win the general election. [ [http://www.law.uga.edu/news/advocate/spring2003/smith.pdf "The Advocate"] , University of Georgia School of Law]

Republican nomination

Howard Callaway, also known as "Bo," the first Republican to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia since Reconstruction, was the Republican nominee.

General election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Bo Callaway
votes = 453,665
percentage = 46.53%
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Lester Maddox
votes = 450,626
percentage = 46.22%
change =Election box candidate
party = Independent (write-in)
candidate = Ellis Arnall
votes = 69,025
percentage = 7.08%
change =
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

A write-in campaign for Arnall prevented any candidate from winning the majority. Georgia law at the time allowed the Georgia General Assembly to select the governor if no candidate received more than 50 percent of the popular vote. The legislature, dominated by Democrats, selected Maddox, although Callaway received more popular votes. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=40398 OurCampaigns.com: GA Governor general election] ]

References