The 1970 Alabama gubernatorial election was marked by a competitive

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

primary battle between incumbent moderate Governor Albert Brewer and segregationist former governor and 1968 independent presidential candidate

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

. 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 Asa Earl Carter (September 4, 1925 – June 7, 1979) was a 1950s segregationist speech writer, and later Western novelist. He co-wrote George Wallace's well-known pro-segregation line of 1963, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation ...

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

leader and former Wallace speechwriter * Jim Folsom, former Governor * Ralph "Shorty" Price, perennial candidate *

, 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. 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.". Republican President Richard Nixon endorsed Brewer in order to break Wallace's political career and secure

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

votes for himself in the next presidential election. It was later discovered that Nixon had directed his reelection campaign to donate $400,000 dollars to Brewer in secret cash payments. Wallace, whose presidential ambitions would have been destroyed with a defeat, ran a very aggressive and dirty campaign using racist rhetoric while proposing few ideas of his own. 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." Wallace called Brewer a sissy and promised not to run for president a third time.Flowers, 2005

Primary results

Runoff

Despite Brewer's victory in the first round, he failed to win a majority and was forced into a runoff with Wallace.

General election

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. The Republican Party did not field a candidate, and Wallace easily won the general election.

References

* http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=79753 {{US Third Party Election

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Gubernatorial Alabama November 1970 events in the United States George Wallace