| Elections in Alabama | |||||||||
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Alabama gubernatorial election, 1962 took place on November 6, 1962.
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At this time Alabama was de facto one-party state. Every Democratic Party nominee felt safe. The real contest for governor took place during this party's primaries.
Incumbent Governor John M. Patterson was barred from seeking a second consecutive term.
Candidates:
Among three main contenders - Folsom, DeGraffenried and Wallace, the two firsts were considered a progressive or moderate. Folsom, two-term Governor (1947-1951 & 1955-1959) was one of the first Southern chief executives who spoke out in favor of desegregation and voting rights for an African Americans and he frequently feuded from left with a conservative Legislature on a number of issues[1][2]. DeGraffenried also ran as a moderate, especially on the race issues[3].
Wallace, who lost a close primary to Patterson in 1958, ran that year as a Folsom-style moderate (he was indeed a close Folsom ally), and even accepted official NAACP endorsement, while Patterson ran as a strong segregationist, accepting official Ku Klux Klan endorsement[4].
After he lost, Wallace however decided to adopt a strong segregationist stance as well in order to secure conservative votes[5].
In a primary, held on June 3, Wallace finished first but failed to win a majority. Folsom and DeGraffenried split moderate votes and DeGraffenried was the one, who will face Wallace in a runoff. Many believed that a controversial TV appearance, in which he appeared to be seriously drunk, cost Folsom an election.
Primary results[3]:
Wallace defeated DeGraffenried in a runoff, held on June 24[6]:
Former Lt. Governor and future U.S. Senator James B. Allen won a nomination for Lieutenant Governor.
Republican Party did not field a candidate.
Wallace sole rival was an Independent Frank P. Walls (later an Alabama Conservative congressional candidate).
As expected, Wallace won a crushing landslide[7]:
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