Alabama gubernatorial election, 1966

Alabama gubernatorial election, 1966

November 8, 1966

Nominee Lurleen Wallace James D. Martin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 537,505 262,943 Percentage 63.38% 31.00%

Governor before election George Wallace Democratic Elected Governor Lurleen Wallace Democratic

The Alabama gubernatorial election of 1966 took place on November 8, 1966, and saw the election of Lurleen Burns Wallace as Governor over U.S. Representative James D. Martin.

Democratic Primary

Purple denotes a county carried by Wallace, and Green by Flowers.

The Democratic primary was handily won by Lurleen Wallace, who was running as the proxy of her husband, governor George Wallace.

• First Lady of Alabama Lurleen Burns Wallace – 480,841 (54.10%)
• Attorney General Richmond Flowers, Sr. – 172,386 (19.40%)
• Representative Carl A. Elliot – 71,792 (8.10%)
• Bob Gilchrist – 49,502 (5.57%)
• Charles Woods – 41,148 (4.63%)
• Fmr. Governor John Malcolm Patterson – 31,011 (3.49%)
• Fmr. Governor Jim Folsom – 24,145 (2.72%)
• Commissioner of Agriculture and Industry A. W. Todd – 9,013 (1.01%)
• Sherman Powell – 7,231 (0.81%)
• Eunice Gore – 1,589 (0.18%)

Wallace captured a majority of the vote cast in the first round of the primary and there was therefore no runoff necessary.

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.

• Lurleen Burns Wallace 537,505 (63.38%)
• James D. Martin 262,943 (31.00%)
• Carl Robinson 47,653 (5.62%)