# 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election

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The 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958. Incumbent Democrat Jim Folsom was term limited and could not seek a second consecutive term.

## Democratic Party nomination

At this time Alabama was a de facto one-party state. Because of this, every Democratic Party nominee was considered safe for election. The real contest for governor took place during the primary.
Popular incumbent Governor Jim Folsom, a racial moderate, was barred from running for reelection, as Governors could not succeed themselves at the time. Therefore, the Democratic primary was an open contest.

### Candidates

* Laurie C. Battle, U.S. Representative
* John G. Crommelin, retired Rear Admiral
* W. E. Dodd
* Shearen Elebash
* Jimmy Faulkner, former State Senator and former Mayor of Bay Minette
* James Gulatte
* Karl Harrison
* George C. Hawkins, State Representative
* C. C. Owen
* John Malcolm Patterson, Attorney General
* Shorty Price
* A. W. Todd, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
* Billy Walker
* George Wallace, Third Judicial Circuit Judge and former State Representative
The two front-runners, Patterson and Wallace, held deeply different positions on racial segregation issues. While Patterson, known primarily as crime-fighting attorney general, ran on a very segregationist platform and accepted an official endorsement from the Ku Klux Klan, Wallace, a close ally of Folsom, refused to cooperate with the KKK and was endorsed by the NAACP.
After the election, aide Seymore Trammell recalled Wallace saying, "Seymore, you know why I lost that governor's race? ... I was outniggered by John Patterson. And I'll tell you here and now, I will never be outniggered again."

### Primary results

Primaries were held on June 3, 1958.
Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John Malcolm Patterson | 196,859 | 31.82 |
| | Democratic | George Wallace | 162,435 | 26.26 |
| | Democratic | Jimmy Faulkner | 91,512 | 14.79 |
| | Democratic | A. W. Todd | 59,240 | 9.58 |
| | Democratic | Laurie C. Battle | 38,955 | 6.30 |
| | Democratic | George C. Hawkins | 24,332 | 3.93 |
| | Democratic | C. C. Owen | 15,270 | 2.47 |
| | Democratic | Karl Harrison | 12,488 | 2.02 |
| | Democratic | Billy Walker | 7,963 | 1.29 |
| | Democratic | W. E. Dodd | 4,753 | 0.77 |
| | Democratic | John G. Crommelin | 2,245 | 0.36 |
| | Democratic | Shearen Elebash | 1,177 | 0.19 |
| | Democratic | James Gulatte | 798 | 0.13 |
| | Democratic | Shorty Price | 655 | 0.11 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 618,682 | 100.00 |

### Runoff

Because none of the candidates won a majority, a runoff was held on June 24, 1958, in order to determine which candidate received the nomination.
Democratic primary runoff results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John Malcolm Patterson | 315,353 | 55.74 |
| | Democratic | George Wallace | 250,451 | 44.27 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 565,804 | 100 |

## Republican Party nomination

William Longshore, a former Republican Party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives from the 9th district (lost, winning 34.12% votes) won the gubernatorial nomination unopposed.

## General election

1958 Alabama gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | John Malcolm Patterson | 234,583 | 88.22 | +14.85% |
| | Republican | William Longshore | 30,415 | 11.44 | −15.19% |
| | Independent | William Jackson | 903 | 0.34 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 204,168 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 265,901 | 76.78 | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
After his defeat, George Wallace, who was a racial moderate, modified his public position in order to gain the white support necessary to win the next election.