1966 Alabama gubernatorial election

← 1962

November 8, 1966

1970 →


Nominee	Lurleen Wallace	James D. Martin	Carl Robinson
Party	Democratic	Republican	Independent
Popular vote	537,505	262,943	47,653
Percentage	63.38%	31.0%	5.62%

County results
L. Wallace: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Martin: 40–50% 50–60%

Governor before election

George Wallace
Democratic

Elected Governor

Lurleen Wallace
Democratic

Elections in Alabama

Federal government

Presidential elections
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U.S. Senate elections
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State government

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Gubernatorial elections
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Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2018 2022
State Treasurer elections
2022
Senate elections
2010 2014 2018 2022
House of Representatives elections
2010 2014 2018 2022

Ballot measures

2000: Amendment 2

2006: Amendment 774

2020: Amendment 1

Birmingham

Mayoral elections
2017 2021

Huntsville

Mayoral elections
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Mobile

Mayoral elections
2021

Montgomery

Mayoral elections
2007 2009 sp 2011 2015 2019 2023

Government

The 1966 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1966, and saw the election of Lurleen Wallace as the governor over U.S. Representative James D. Martin. Incumbent Democrat George Wallace was term limited and could not seek a second consecutive term.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Carl Elliott, former U.S. Representative
Richmond Flowers, Sr., Attorney General
Jim Folsom, former Governor
Bob Gilchrist, State Senator
Eunice Gore
John Malcolm Patterson, former Governor
Sherman Powell
A.W. Todd, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
Lurleen Wallace, First Lady
Charles Woods, businessman

Results

The Democratic primary was handily won by Lurleen Wallace, who was running as the proxy of her husband, governor George Wallace. Wallace captured a majority of the vote cast in the first round of the primary and there was therefore no runoff necessary.

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lurleen Wallace	480,841	54.10
	Democratic	Richmond Flowers, Sr.	172,386	19.40
	Democratic	Carl Elliott	71,792	8.10
	Democratic	Bob Gilchrist	49,502	5.57
	Democratic	Charles Woods	41,148	4.63
	Democratic	John Malcolm Patterson	31,011	3.49
	Democratic	Jim Folsom	24,145	2.72
	Democratic	A.W. Todd	9,013	1.01
	Democratic	Sherman Powell	7,231	0.81
	Democratic	Eunice Gore	1,589	0.18
Total votes			888,658	100

General election

Until 1966, the official election of the Democratic nominee had been a foregone conclusion. This election proved to be a significant departure from that trend, and the showing of James D. Martin proved to the best by a Republican candidate for governor in Alabama since Reconstruction.

1966 Alabama gubernatorial election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Lurleen Burns Wallace	537,505	63.38	-32.89%
	Republican	James D. Martin	262,943	31.00	N/A
	Independent	Carl Robinson	47,653	5.62	N/A
Majority			274,562	32.38
Turnout			848,101
	Democratic hold

References

^ "AL Governor, 1966". Our Campaigns. Retrieved January 17, 2021.

v t e (1964 ←) 1966 United States elections (→ 1968)
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v t e Alabama gubernatorial elections
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Alabama gubernatorial elections

v t e Notable third-party performances in United States elections
* Third party is endorsed by a major party
Presidential	1788–89* 1792* 1832 1848 1856 1860 1872* 1892 1896* 1912 1924 1948 1960 1968 1980 1992 1996
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Portal:Politics Third party (U.S. politics) List of third-party and independent performances in United States elections Third-party and independent members of the United States Congress