1978 United States Senate election in Alabama
The 1978 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Sparkman decided to retire and Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Howell Heflin was elected to succeed him.
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Elections in Alabama |
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Government |
Heflin won the Democratic primary against Rep. Walter Flowers and faced only nominal opposition from Prohibition Party nominee Jerome Couch in the general election.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- John Baker, Alabama State Senator
- Walter Flowers, U.S. Representative
- Howell Heflin, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court
- Mac Newton
- Margaret Stewart, perennial candidate
- Gordon Tucker
- Glenn Hewitt
Campaign
Prior to 1978, Alabama had never popularly elected any Senator from a party other than the Democratic Party, and Democratic candidates typically faced nominal opposition in the general election. Therefore, victory in the Democratic primary was considered tantamount to election.
Incumbent Democrat John Sparkman declined to seek a seventh consecutive term in office. Senator Sparkman retired as the longest-serving Senator in Alabama history.
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Howell Heflin and Congressman Walter Flowers of Tuscaloosa were the leading candidates. Heflin came from a noted Alabama political family which included former Senator James Thomas Heflin, a famous advocate of white supremacy. Flowers was a strong ally of Governor George Wallace, a critic of President Carter,[1] and had cast a crucial vote to impeach Richard Nixon, despite Nixon's strong support in the state.[2][3]
During the campaign, Heflin attempted to tie himself to the late Senator James Allen. He was rebuffed by Allen's widow, Maryon, who succeeded her husband as Senator and supported Flowers. Maryon noted that Heflin worked for her husband's primary opponent during the 1974 campaign.[4]
Results
Heflin and Flowers both proceeded to a run-off election, where Heflin won by over 250,000 votes.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Howell Heflin | 369,270 | 48.37% | |
Democratic | Walter Flowers | 236,894 | 31.03% | |
Democratic | John Baker | 101,110 | 13.24% | |
Democratic | Mac Newton | 18,709 | 2.45% | |
Democratic | Margaret E. Stewart | 17,562 | 2.35% | |
Democratic | Gordon Tucker | 10,206 | 2.35% | |
Democratic | Glenn Hewett | 9,702 | 1.27% | |
Total votes | 763,453 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Howell Heflin | 556,685 | 64.93% | |
Democratic | Walter Flowers | 300,654 | 35.07% | |
Total votes | 857,339 | 100.00% |
Republican primary
Withdrew
- James D. Martin, former U.S. Representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district (to run in the special election)
After James Martin withdrew from the race to run in the concurrent special election to fill the late Senator Allen's seat, the Republican Party was left without a candidate for this election.
General election
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Howell Heflin | 547,054 | 93.99% | +31.72 | |
Prohibition | Jerome B. Couch | 34,951 | 6.01% | N/A | |
Total votes | 582,005 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Democratic hold |
References
- Martin Tolchin (24 July 1977). "AN OLD POL TAKES ON THE NEW PRESIDENT". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 Nov 2018.
- "The Fatal Vote to Impeach". Time.com. 5 August 1974. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
- Martin Weil (13 April 1984). "Ex-Rep. Walter Flowers of Impeachment Panel Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- Sally Quinn (30 July 1978). "Maryon Allen - The Southerngirl in the Senate". The Washington Post.
- "AL US Senate – D Primary, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- "AL US Senate – D Primary Runoff, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- "AL US Senate, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.