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County results Carter: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Suit: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Georgia |
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The 1970 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. It was marked by the election as Governor of Georgia of the relatively little-known former state senator Jimmy Carter after a hard battle in the Democratic primary. This election is famous because Carter, who was often regarded as one of the New South Governors, later ran for president in 1976 on his gubernatorial record and won. As of 2024, this was the last time Fulton County was carried by the Republican candidate in a gubernatorial election, the only time it failed to back Carter, and the last time a Democrat in any race won without carrying it. It is also the last time that Clarke County voted for the Republican candidate for governor.
Under the Georgia constitution of 1945, incumbent Democratic governor Lester Maddox was prohibited from seeking re-election.
Initially the strongest candidate was former governor Carl E. Sanders. Sanders was a moderate, who worked to improve education, the environment and led the transition away from racial segregation with cooperation with the United States Federal Government. He left office at the peak of his popularity.[ citation needed ]
His main opponent was former state senator and candidate for the gubernatorial nomination in 1966 Jimmy Carter.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jimmy Carter | 388,280 | 48.62 | |
Democratic | Carl Sanders | 301,659 | 37.77 | |
Democratic | Chevene Bowers King | 70,424 | 8.82 | |
Democratic | J. B. Stoner | 17,663 | 2.21 | |
Democratic | McKee Hargett | 9,440 | 1.18 | |
Democratic | Thomas J. Irwin | 4,184 | 0.52 | |
Democratic | Adam B. Matthews | 3,332 | 0.42 |
A runoff was held on September 23. Despite Sanders's initial front-runner status and popularity, Carter won by nearly 20 points.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jimmy Carter | 506,462 | 59.42 | |
Democratic | Carl Sanders | 345,906 | 40.58 |
Governor Maddox ran for lieutenant governor and won the nomination. Although Maddox was elected as a Democratic candidate at the same time as Jimmy Carter's election as governor as a Democratic candidate, the two were not running mates; in Georgia, particularly in that era of Democratic dominance, the winners of the primary elections went on to easy victories in the general elections without campaigning together as an official ticket or as running mates.
At this time, Georgia was still regarded as a part of the Democratic Party's Solid South, despite the Republican plurality in the 1966 gubernatorial race. The Democratic position in 1970 was again regarded as safe. TV newsman Hal Suit faced Comptroller James L. Bentley, who had been elected as a Democrat but joined the Republican party in 1968.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Hal Suit | 62,868 | 60.97 | |
Republican | James L. Bentley | 40,251 | 39.03 |
Carter ran on a populist platform. While he refused to join the segregationist White Citizens' Council, he ran a campaign specifically designed to win over the segregationist vote that had made Maddox governor four years earlier.
In winning the governorship back in 1970, he courted the right wing, particularly the large constituency of Lester Maddox, the fiery segregationist Governor ... At one point, he called Mr. Maddox "the essence of the Democratic Party" and added that he was "proud" to be on the ticket with him. [4]
Carter's true feelings about race might be better indicated by the fact that his had been one of only two families which voted to admit blacks to the Plains Baptist Church, [5] but that was not something advertised in the 1970 race for governor.
Carter won the governorship easily. [6]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jimmy Carter | 620,419 | 59.28% | ||
Republican | Hal Suit | 424,983 | 40.60% |
Prior to this campaign, Jimmy Carter appeared to be a proponent of civil rights and desegregation. In 1954 he refused to join the White Citizens Council despite immense pressure [7] and went on to vote against segregation for his church in 1965. [5] [8] However, after failing to run as a moderate in the Georgia Gubernatorial Election of 1966, Carter's new strategy in 1970 was designed to attract the pro-segregationist vote. [9] Poll data suggested that the appearance of a pro-segregationist position could be critical to winning the race, even if it was never overtly stated. [9] In order to shore up segregationist support, Carter made overtures to numerous racial organizations, [9] and even personally called the cofounder of the White Citizens Council. [10] Carter's apparent support for segregation sparked animosity with his opponent Carl Sanders. [11] Sanders claims that when his own campaign had presented the same poll data, he refused to pursue a strategy on it for moral reasons. [11] Furthermore, Carter's campaign printed numerous pamphlets insinuating Sanders was too "chummy" with blacks. [12]
Ultimately, Carter himself has expressed embarrassment and regret over his strategy. [10] After being elected, he reversed his position on segregation prominently, stating in his 1971 gubernatorial inaugural address "The time for racial discrimination is over." [10] Though attendees could be heard booing, this declaration was hardly controversial even for a Southern governor, as many had already made similar statements by that time. [13] [14]
Carter won praise for his strategy from Leroy Johnson, who stated "I understand why he ran that kind of ultra-conservative campaign. You have to do that to win. And that is the main thing. I don't believe you can win [Georgia] without being a racist."
Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Southern Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist when he refused to serve black customers in his Atlanta restaurant, the Pickrick, in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As he was ineligible to run for a second consecutive gubernatorial term, he sought and won election as lieutenant governor, serving alongside his successor as governor, Jimmy Carter.
George Corley Wallace Jr. was an American politician and judge who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. He is remembered for his staunch segregationist and populist views. During Wallace's tenure as governor of Alabama, he promoted "industrial development, low taxes, and trade schools." Wallace unsuccessfully sought the United States presidency as a Democratic Party candidate three times, and once as an American Independent Party candidate, carrying 5 states in the 1968 election. Wallace opposed desegregation and supported the policies of "Jim Crow" during the Civil Rights Movement, declaring in his 1963 inaugural address that he stood for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
Samuel Ernest Vandiver Jr. was an American Democratic Party politician who was the 73rd governor of Georgia from 1959 to 1963.
Samuel Marvin Griffin, Sr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia.
Carl Edward Sanders Sr. was an American attorney and politician who served as the 74th governor of Georgia from 1963 to 1967.
Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr. was an American lawyer, white supremacist, neo-Nazi, segregationist politician, and domestic terrorist who perpetrated the 1958 bombing of the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He was not convicted for the bombing of the church until 1980.
The 1972 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's landslide victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. The Democrats picked up open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeated four incumbent senators: Gordon Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. The Republicans picked up open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and defeated one incumbent, William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia.
The 1960 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on April 19, 1960.
The 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958. Incumbent Democrat Jim Folsom was term limited and could not seek a second consecutive term.
Peter Zack Geer was an American lawyer and a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Georgia.
The 1966 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966. Winthrop Rockefeller was elected governor of Arkansas, becoming the first Republican to be elected to the office since Reconstruction in 1872.
Garland Turk Byrd was United States Democratic politician from Georgia, who served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Georgia from 1959 to 1963, and as Senator from the 17th District in 1963-4.
Electoral history of Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States (1977–1981) and the 76th governor of Georgia (1971–1975).
The 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966. After an election that exposed divisions within the Georgia Democratic Party, segregationist Democrat Lester Maddox was elected Governor of Georgia. The voting also brought future President Jimmy Carter to statewide prominence for the first time. The election was the closest in Georgia gubernatorial history; Republican candidate Bo Callaway won a plurality of the popular vote, but lost the contingent election in the Georgia General Assembly to Maddox. It was also the first time since 1916 that the Republican Party contested a gubernatorial election.
Electoral history of Lester Maddox, 75th Governor of Georgia (1967–1971), seventh Lieutenant Governor of Georgia (1971–1975) and 1976 American Independent Party presidential nominee
The 2014 Georgia gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Georgia, concurrently with the election to Georgia's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 1962 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1962.
The 1974 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974. Under Georgia's constitution at the time, incumbent Democratic governor Jimmy Carter was ineligible to serve a second consecutive term. He was elected President of the United States in the 1976 presidential election. George Busbee was elected as the 77th Governor of Georgia.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 7, 1972, as one of that year's United States Senate elections. It was held concurrently with the 1972 presidential election. This seat had opened up following the death of Richard B. Russell in 1971. Shortly thereafter, Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter appointed David H. Gambrell to fill Russell's vacant seat. The Democratic Party nominee was Sam Nunn, a conservative Democrat and member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and the Republican Party nominated Fletcher Thompson, the Representative from the Atlanta-area 5th congressional district of Georgia. In the primary, Nunn emerged victorious from a crowded field of Democratic candidates, including Gambrell and former Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver. Despite President Richard Nixon defeating George McGovern in Georgia in the presidential election on the same day, Nunn defeated Thompson in both the special election 52% to 47% and general election 54% to 46%, both of which appeared on the same ballot.
In the 1976 United States presidential election, Jimmy Carter and his running mate, Walter Mondale, were elected president and vice president, defeating incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford and his running mate, Bob Dole.