The 1982 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the

governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. The incumbent, Fob James, declined to run for re-election, resulting in an open race. Former Democratic Governor

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 ...

, who narrowly won the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

, defeated Republican

Emory Folmar Emory McCord Folmar (June 3, 1930 – November 11, 2011) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, from 1977 to 1999. Although the mayor's office is nonpartisan, Folmar was known to be a Republican. Backgr ...

, the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. In the Democratic primary, Wallace received challenges from

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

George McMillan, Speaker of the State House

Joe McCorquodale Joseph Charles McCorquodale, Jr. (December 2, 1920 – April 17, 2017) was a United States politician from Alabama, who served as the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and unsuccessfully ran for Governor on the basis of the "McCorq ...

, former Governor Jim Folsom, and Reuben McKinley. Because Wallace did not receive a majority of the votes, he advanced to a run-off with McMillan and then narrowly won the Democratic nomination. Montgomery Mayor

went unchallenged for the Republican nomination. Wallace, formerly a notorious segregationist, renounced those views in 1979. On November 2, 1982, Wallace not only won the general election, but also over 90% of the black vote. Overall, Wallace received 650,538 (57.64%) votes against Folmar's 440,815 (39.06%) votes. Folmer was the last Alabama Republican gubernatorial nominee to have never won a gubernatorial general election.

Background

Incumbent

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Fob James declined to seek a second term. Shortly after former Governor

survived an

assassination attempt This is a list of survivors of assassination attempts, listed chronologically. It does ''not'' include those who were heads of state or government at the time of the assassination attempt. See List of heads of state and government who survived as ...

in 1972, he renounced his infamous segregationist past, especially when he stood in front of the school house door at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1963, noting that, "I was wrong. Those days are over, and they ought to be over." With Governor James retiring, Wallace decided to run for a fourth non-consecutive term in 1982.

Democratic primary

Incumbent Democratic

Fob James decided to not seek a second term.

Candidates

* Jim Folsom, former Governor *

, Speaker of the State House of Representatives * Reuben McKinley * George McMillan,

, former Governor

Republican primary

Emory M. Folmar won the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

primary without any opposition.

Election results

* George Wallace (D) – 650,538 (57.64%) * Emory M. Folmar (R) – 440,815 (39.06%) * Leo Suiter (Alabama Conservative) – 17,936 (1.59%) * Henry Klingler (

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

) – 7,671 (0.68%) * John Jackson (Alabama National Democrat) – 4,693 (0.42%) * John Dyer (

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

) – 4,364 (0.39%) * Martin J. Boyers (Socialist Workers) – 2,578 (0.23%)

References

* http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=7393 {{1982 United States elections

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

George Wallace