1966 Alabama gubernatorial election

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

1966 Alabama gubernatorial election
November 8, 1966
 
Nominee Lurleen Wallace James D. Martin
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 537,505 262,943
Percentage 63.4% 31.0%
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

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.

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

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