The 1950 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1950. Incumbent Governor
Herman Talmadge won the Democratic primary over
Melvin Thompson on June 28 with 49.33% of the vote and 295 out of 410
county unit votes. The primary was a rematch of the 1948 special election. This would be the last gubernatorial rematch in the state until
2022
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.
At this time, Georgia was a one-party state, and the Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory. Talmadge was re-elected in the November general election without an opponent.
Democratic primary
County unit system
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in the
U.S. state of
Georgia used a voting system called the
county unit system to determine victors in statewide primary elections.
The system was ostensibly designed to function similarly to the
Electoral College, but in practice the large ratio of unit votes for small, rural counties to unit votes for more populous urban areas provided outsized political influence to the smaller counties.
Under the county unit system, the 159 counties in Georgia were divided by population into three categories. The largest eight counties were classified as "Urban", the next-largest 30 counties were classified as "Town", and the remaining 121 counties were classified as "Rural". Urban counties were given 6 unit votes, Town counties were given 4 unit votes, and Rural counties were given 2 unit votes, for a total of 410 available unit votes. Each county's unit votes were awarded on a
winner-take-all basis.
Candidates were required to obtain a
majority
A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Websterrunoff election
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
was held between the top two candidates to determine a winner.
Candidates
* Pat Avery
* C. O. Baker
* J. W. Jenkins
*
Herman Talmadge, incumbent Governor since 1948
*
Melvin Thompson, former Governor (1947–48)
Results
General election
Results
References
{{1950 United States elections
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
1950 Georgia (U.S. state) elections
Georgia
November 1950 events in the United States