1962 Alabama Senate election

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1962 Alabama Senate election
Flag of Alabama.svg
  1958 November 6, 1962 1966  

All 35 seats in the Alabama State Senate
18 seats needed for a majority
 Majority partyMinority party
  Vaughan Hill Robison.jpg 3x4.svg
LeaderVaughan Hill Robison
(retired as leader)
Party Democratic Republican
Leader sinceJanuary 13, 1959
Leader's seat28th–Montgomery Co.
Last election35 seats, 97.5%0 seats, 2.5%
Seats won350
Popular vote281,02230,566
Percentage90.18%9.81%

1962 Alabama Senate election by vote share.svg
Winners by vote share
Democratic:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     Unopposed

President pro tempore before election

Vaughan Hill Robison
Democratic

Elected President pro tempore

George C. Hawkins
Democratic

The 1966 Alabama Senate election took place on Tuesday, November 8, 1966, to elect 35 representatives to serve four-year terms in the Alabama Senate. The result an electoral wipeout, as all 35 candidates elected were members of the Democratic Party. Across the 35 districts, only 6 seats were actually at stake in the November general election. As the Democratic Party was dominant in the state, state legislative seats were generally decided at the Democratic primary election. This was the first Senate election since a federal court ordered the first legislative reapportionment in the state since 1901.

Contents

The Democratic primaries were held on May 1 with a runoff on May 29. Due to late-term redistricting in July 1962, two special Democratic primaries had to be held on August 28 with runoffs on September 11. In the new District 22 (Blount–St. Clair), no candidate from either county won a Senate nomination in the regular Democratic primary, and the new District 30 (Dallas–Lowndes) had its regular primary in Lowndes County voided. [1]

At the beginning of the 1963 session, George C. Hawkins of Etowah was unanimously elected president pro tempore. [2]

Redistricting

District map of the Alabama Senate before and after the July 1962 reapportionment. Districts in gray did not have their boundaries changed. BeforeAfterJul1962ALSen.svg
District map of the Alabama Senate before and after the July 1962 reapportionment. Districts in gray did not have their boundaries changed.

For the 1962 election, the legislature adopted a new state senate map, the first reapportionment since 1901. A few counties were swapped around, but rural areas of the state still had an overwhelming advantage in terms of representation. [3] The legislature would be forced to create a fairer senate map which would be in force by the 1966 general election.

Counties shuffled

Counties in italics were removed from the district, and counties in boldface were added. Districts and counties not listed here were not affected in the redistricting. 11 districts had their boundaries changed as a result of 8 county shuffles.

DistrictBeforeAfter
3rdBlount–Cullman–WinstonCullman–Winston
6thEtowah–St. ClairEtowah
12thFayette–Lamar–WalkerFayette–Walker
14thPickens–SumterLamar–Pickens
16thLowndesMonroe–Wilcox
20thMarengoMarengo–Sumter
21stBaldwin–Escambia–MonroeBaldwin–Escambia
22ndWilcoxBlount–St. Clair
24thBarbourBarbour–Pike
25thCoffee–Crenshaw–PikeCoffee–Crenshaw
30thDallasDallas–Lowndes

Deviation

The table below will show the most-populated and least-populated senate districts under the 1901 and 1962 apportionment plans. The population of Alabama at the 1960 census was 3,266,740, with an ideal population of 93,335 people under a 35-district plan.

PlanDistrictPopulation % of idealDiff.
1901Jefferson634,864680.20%41.17
Lowndes15,41716.52%
1962Jefferson634,864680.20%20.01
Bibb–Perry31,71533.98%

Summary

PartyCandidatesSeats
Num.Vote%BeforeWon+/–
Democratic 35281,02290.18% 3535Steady2.svg
Republican 630,5669.81%00Steady2.svg
Write-in 250.01%0Steady2.svg
Total41311,613100%3535Steady2.svg

Incumbents

District Incumbent PartyElected SenatorParty
1stBert HaltomDemEd NortonDem
2ndRobert R. BerrymanDemBob GilchristDem
3rdElwood RutledgeDemHarlan G. AllenDem
4thBilly Laxson [a] DemRoscoe O. RobertsDem
5thD. Donald WordDemClayton CarterDem
6thRay WyattDem George C. Hawkins Dem
7thA. C. SheltonDemA. C. SheltonDem
8thG. Kyser LeonardDem Bill Nichols Dem
9thBill HinesDemJulian LoweDem
10thUpshaw G. Jones [b] DemSonny HornsbyDem
11th Ryan deGraffenried DemBill McCainDem
12thWoodrow RobertsDemBob WilsonDem
13th Larry Dumas Dem Larry Dumas Dem
14thAubrey GreenDemGaillard RobisonDem
15thJoe GrahamDemJimmy McDowDem
16thCarl GolsonDemRoland CooperDem
17thBob KendallDemH. B. TaylorDem
18thNorman CrawfordDemH. P. JamesDem
19thDennis PorterDemAlbert H. EvansDem
20thE. O. EddinsDemE. O. EddinsDem
21stDouglas WebbDemL. W. BrannonDem
22ndRoland CooperDemRoland CooperDem
23rdRufus BarnettDemNeil MetcalfDem
24thJimmy ClarkDemJimmy ClarkDem
25thAlton TurnerDemW. Ray LolleyDem
26thSnag AndrewsDemEd ReynoldsDem
27thYetta SamfordDemJoseph W. SmithDem
28thVaughn Hill RobisonDemVaughn Hill RobisonDem
29thGeorge GodfreyDemKenneth HammondDem
30th Walter C. Givhan Dem Walter C. Givhan Dem
31stHugh MosesDemW. Emmett OdenDem
32ndFlute WilsonDemCharles A. MontgomeryDem
33rdWill CaffeyDemJohn M. TysonDem
34thJohn GaitherDemPete MathewsDem
35thCarl FarmerDemCharlie AdamsDem

Won re-election

  • District 7: A. C. Shelton (Democratic) won re-election.
  • District 13: Larry Dumas (Democratic) won re-election.
  • District 20: E. O. Eddins (Democratic) won re-election.
  • District 22: Roland Cooper (Democratic) won re-election.
  • District 24: Jimmy Clark (Democratic) won re-election.
  • District 28: Vaughn Hill Robison (Democratic) won re-election.
  • District 30: Walter C. Givhan (Democratic) won re-election.

Eliminated in primary

  • District 8: G. Kyser Leonard (Democratic) lost re-nomination to Bill Nichols.
  • District 16: Carl Golson (Democratic) appeared to lose the regular Democratic primary and attempted to contest the election; withdrew contest after new legislative maps were put in place.

Did not seek re-election

  • District 1: Bert Haltom (Democratic) unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor.
  • District 2: Robert R. Berryman (Democratic) unsuccessfully ran for the House seat in Lawrence County.
  • District 3: Elwood Rutledge (Democratic) retired.
  • District 4: Billy Laxson (Democratic) retired.
  • District 5: D. Donald Word (Democratic) retired.
  • District 6: Ray Wyatt (Democratic) retired.
  • District 9: Bill Hines (Democratic) unsuccessfully ran for the 2nd place House seat in Chambers County.
  • District 10: Upshaw G. Jones (Democratic) retired.
  • District 11: Ryan deGraffenried (Democratic) unsuccessfully ran for governor.
  • District 12: Woodrow Roberts (Democratic) retired.
  • District 14: Aubrey Green (Democratic) retired to serve as the international president of Lions Club International.
  • District 15: Joe Graham (Democratic) unsuccessfully ran for the State Democratic Executive Committee.
  • District 17: Bob Kendall (Democratic) retired.
  • District 18: Norman Crawford (Democratic) retired.
  • District 19: Dennis Porter (Democratic) retired.
  • District 21: Douglas Webb (Democratic) retired.
  • District 23: Rufus Barnett (Democratic) retired.
  • District 25: Alton Turner (Democratic) successfully ran for the House seat in Crenshaw County.
  • District 26: Snag Andrews (Democratic) retired.
  • District 27: Yetta Samford (Democratic) retired.
  • District 29: George Godfrey (Democratic) unsuccessfully ran for the House seat in Cherokee County.
  • District 31: Hugh Moses (Democratic) retired.
  • District 32: Flute Wilson (Democratic) unsuccessfully ran for Agriculture Commissioner.
  • District 33: Will Caffey (Democratic) retired.
  • District 34: John Gaither (Democratic) retired.
  • District 35: Carl Farmer (Democratic) retired.

General election results

By district

District Democratic Republican Total
CandidateVotes %CandidateVotes %VotesMaj.Mrg.
1stEd Norton8,96281.67%J. C. Mauldin2,01118.33%10,973+6,951+63.35%
3rdHarlan G. Allen7,44154.02%Guy Hunt6,33445.98%13,775+1,107+8.04%
15thJimmy McDow6,89865.53%Emmett D. Wyatt3,62834.47%10,526+3,270+31.07%
17thH. B. Taylor6,53568.56%J. R. Bennett2,99731.44%9,532+3,538+37.12%
28thVaughan Hill Robison10,22854.41%Perry O. Hooper8,56945.59%18,797+1,659+8.83%
33rdJohn M. Tyson24,43077.66%W. D. Carson7,02722.34%31,457+17,403+55.32%
Source: Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1963 (p. 777–782) [4]

Elected without opposition

Every candidate elected with no opponents was a Democrat.

  • District 2: Bob Gilchrist was elected with 9,522 votes.
  • District 4: Roscoe O. Roberts was elected with 9,541 votes.
  • District 5: Clayton Carter was elected with 6,875 votes. 8 other votes were cast.
  • District 6: George Hawkins was elected with 9,877 votes. other votes were cast.
  • District 7: A. C. Shelton was elected with 6,500 votes. 1 other vote was cast.
  • District 8: Bill Nichols was elected with 5,370 votes. 1 other vote was cast.
  • District 9: Julian Lowe was elected with 4,335 votes.
  • District 10: Sonny Hornsby was elected with 5,250 votes.
  • District 11: Bill McCain was elected with 7,905 votes.
  • District 12: Bob Wilson was elected with 8,574 votes.
  • District 13: Larry Dumas was elected with 60,968 votes.
  • District 14: Gaillard Robison was elected with 2,574 votes.
  • District 16: Roland Cooper was elected with 2,905 votes.
  • District 18: H. P. James was elected with 3,084 votes.
  • District 19: Albert H. Evans was elected with 3,779 votes. 7 other votes were cast.
  • District 20: E. O. Eddins was elected with 2,712 votes. 2 other votes were cast.
  • District 21: L. W. Brannon was elected with 8,529 votes. 1 other vote was cast.
  • District 22: L. D. Bentley was elected with 5,695 votes.
  • District 23: Neil Metcalf was elected with 3,827 votes.
  • District 24: Jimmy Clark was elected with 3,906 votes.
  • District 25: W. Ray Lolley was elected with 5,317 votes.
  • District 26: Ed Reynolds was elected with 3,185 votes.
  • District 27: Joseph W. Smith was elected with 3,610 votes. 1 other vote was cast.
  • District 29: Kenneth Hammond was elected with 7,470 votes.
  • District 30: Walter C. Givhan was elected with 4,599 votes.
  • District 31: W. Emmett Oden was elected with 10,569 votes.
  • District 32: Charles A. Montgomery was elected with 2,294 votes. 1 other vote was cast.
  • District 34: Pete Matthews was elected with 2,836 votes. 2 other votes were cast.
  • District 35: Charlie Adams was elected with 4,920 votes. 1 other vote was cast.

Special Democratic primary elections

District 22

The first round of the special Democratic primary saw representative Rush "Doc" Smith beat out Roy H. Coshatt for the second-place spot in the runoff by a single vote. After the results were made official, Coshatt decided to contest the election results. His case was thrown out by the state Democratic executive committee, allowing Smith to advance to the September runoff. [5] Smith lost the runoff by 442 votes to radio executive L. D. Bentley.

District 22 special Democratic primary, first round
August 28, 1962
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic → L. D. Bentley 1,461 32.37%
Democratic → Doc Smith 1,047 23.19%
Democratic Roy H. Coshatt1,04623.17%
Democratic Ralph LeCroy54812.14%
Democratic Oscar N. Fouts4129.13%
Total votes4,514 100.00%
District 22 special Democratic primary, runoff
September 11, 1962
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic L. D. Bentley 3,285 53.61%
Democratic Doc Smith2,84346.39%
Total votes6,128 100.00%

District 30

In the regular Senate primary in Lowndes County, the results were thrown out by the state Democratic executive committee amid allegations of voting irregularies. [6] The official tally had Caswell McCurdy ahead of incumbent senator Carl Golson 936–934. The July redistricting plan saw the Dallas County and Lowndes County senate districts combine, and thus the winner of the Lowndes primary would face off against senator Walter C. Givhan, the winner of the Dallas primary, in August. Both McCurdy and Golson withdrew their claims to the Lowndes nomination, allowing Givhan to advance to the general election. [7]

District 30 special Democratic primary
August 28, 1962
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Walter C. Givhan (inc.) Unopp.

Democratic primary results

Runoff results by district

Candidates in boldface advanced to the general election. An asterisk (*) denotes a runoff winner who trailed in the first round.

DistrictWinnerLoserTotal
CandidateVotes %CandidateVotes %VotesMaj.Mrg.
5thClayton Carter12,12859.60%Clark E. Johnson8,22240.40%20,350+3,906+19.19%
11thBill McCain*9,16552.89%Arthur Ferguson8,16247.11%17,327+1,003+5.79%
12thBob Wilson12,28053.03%W. C. Walker10,87646.97%23,156+1,404+6.06%
14thGaillard Robison3,59056.38%Henry McDaniel2,77843.62%6,368+812+12.75%
21stL. W. Brannan10,56851.77%W. M. Hodgson9,84548.23%20,413+723+3.54%
34thPete Mathews6,36358.47%DeForest Nolen4,51941.53%10,882+1,844+16.95%
Source: Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1963 (p. 759) [8]

Additionally, runoffs in District 32 and District 33 were planned, but were canceled after candidates withdrew from their races. Both withdrawals were from candidates who placed second in the first round.

First round results by district

Candidates in boldface advanced to either the general election or a runoff, first-place winners with an asterisk (*) did not face a runoff.

DistrictFirst placeRunners-upOthersTotal
CandidateVotes %CandidateVotes %CandidateVotes %VotesMaj.Mrg.
1stEd Horton*8,67858.96%David Grisham6,04041.04%14,718+2,638+17.92%
2ndBob Gilchrist*10,69754.37%Alvis G. Briscoe5,75829.27%Bill Chenault3,21916.36%19,674+4,939+25.10%
3rdMutt Allen*9,01651.72%L. D. Bentley8,41648.28%17,432+600+3.44%
4thRoscoe Roberts*11,87785.70%Bob Schwenn1,98214.30%13,859+9,895+71.40%
5thClayton Carter8,80348.53%Clark Johnson5,51430.40%O. G. Whitaker3,82321.07%18,140+3,289+18.13%
6th George C. Hawkins*16,26261.57%Rowan S. Bone10,15138.43%26,413+6,111+23.14%
7thA. C. Shelton (inc.)*7,71260.19%Robert M. Parker5,10139.81%12,813+2,611+20.38%
8th Bill Nichols*7,32458.21%G. Kyser Leonard (inc.)5,25941.79%12,583+2,065+16.41%
9thJulian Lowe*5,57450.87%Jimmy Jenkins2,75925.18%Buck Bailey2,62523.96%10,958+2,815+25.69%
10thSonny Hornsby*9,60660.91%Tom Johnson6,16439.09%15,770+3,442+21.83%
11thArthur Ferguson6,97141.39%Bill McCain5,17730.73%Jack McGuire4,69627.88%16,844+1,794+10.65%
12thBob Wilson8,28435.43%Carey Walker7,74233.11%Reuben Newton7,35731.46%23,383+542+2.32%
13th Larry Dumas (inc.)74,89885.93%Rush Lester7,4158.51%Pete Darabaris4,8455.56%87,158+67,483+77.43%
14thGaillard Robison2,75442.34%Henry McDaniel2,35736.24%James Swedenburg1,39321.42%6,504+397+6.10%
15thJimmy McDow*8,37354.81%Fred Phillips4,29728.13%Harold Harlin2,60617.06%15,276+4,076+26.68%
16th [c] Caswell McCurdy93650.05%Carl Golson (inc.)93449.95%1,870+2+0.10%
17thH. B. Taylor*8,50552.79%J. Brunson Kierce7,60747.21%16,112+898+5.57%
18thH. P. James*4,36973.69%Fritz Jones1,56026.31%5,929+2,809+47.38%
19thAlbert H. Evans*8,04766.89%Julian A. Watters3,98433.11%12,031+4,063+33.77%
21stL. W. Brannan7,99437.02%W. M. Hodgson7,14533.09%C. LeNoir Thompson6,45229.88%21,591+849+3.93%
23rdNeil Metcalf*6,36862.98%Bud Boswell3,74337.02%10,111+2,625+25.96%
24thJimmy Clark (inc.)*3,68285.02%Thomas L. Manley64914.98%4,331+3,033+70.03%
25thRay Lolley*8,38156.30%Bill Stokes6,50643.70%14,887+1,875+12.59%
26thEd Reynolds*4,31580.90%Grady Rogers1,01919.10%5,334+3,296+61.79%
27thJoseph W. Smith*5,51050.04%Bowen Brassell4,24038.50%Zeke Calhoun1,26211.46%11,012+1,270+11.53%
29thKenneth Hammond*6,86150.15%Chad B. Hawkins6,82049.85%13,681+41+0.30%
31stW. Emmett Oden*11,32951.42%Anderson Berryman10,70548.58%22,034+624+2.83%
32ndCharles Montgomery1,84046.64%S. D. Bayer1,07527.25%Pete Martin1,03026.11%3,945+765+19.39%
33rdJohn M. Tyson17,12241.97%Thomas M. Galloway10,36825.42%2 others [d] 13,30232.61%40,792+6,754+16.56%
34thPete Mathews4,71844.58%DeForest Nolen3,42132.33%M. J. Norrell2,44423.09%10,583+1,297+12.26%
35thCharlie Adams*7,63564.01%Jimmy Thrower4,29235.99%11,927+3,343+28.03%
Source: Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1963 (p. 722–726) [11]

Nominated without opposition

The following candidates automatically won the Democratic nomination, as no opponent filed to run against them.

1959–1962 special elections

District 10

A special election in Senate District 10 (Elmore–Tallapoosa) was triggered by the death of incumbent senator Carvel Woodall on February 19, 1959. The Democratic executive committee chose to nominate a candidate instead of holding a primary. Upshaw Jones, the runner-up in the 1958 Democratic primary, was the only candidate certified for the ballot, and thus the special general election was canceled. [12]

1959 Alabama Senate District 30 special general election
May 12, 1959
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Upshaw Jones Unopp.

District 4

A special election in District 4 (Madison) was triggered by the resignation of Dave Archer upon his appointment to a circuit judgeship in late 1961. James Record, the clerk-auditor of Madison County, was the only candidate certified for the ballot. [13]

January 1962 Alabama Senate District 4 special general election
January 2, 1962
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic James Record Unopp.

The second special election was triggered when the recently-elected James Record was appointed to the Madison County Board of Commissioners in March 1962. Record was succeeded by Billy Laxson.

June 1962 Alabama Senate District 4 special general election
June 22, 1962 [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Billy Laxson 3,472 68.12%
Republican Morton Hutchens1,62431.86%
Write-in O. G. Pitts10.02%
Total votes5,097 100.00%

See also

Notes

  1. Serving since a June 21, 1962 special election
  2. Serving since a May 12, 1959 special election
  3. Election contested, both candidates withdrew after the July redistricting
  4. Huston Carter: 8,384 votes, 20.55%; Ernest Megginson: 4,918 votes, 12.06%

References

  1. Ingram, Bob (22 July 1962). "Court Order Means Special Vote Or Selection By Demo Committee". The Montgomery Advertiser . Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  2. "Fite Unopposed". The Troy Messenger. 8 January 1963. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  3. "Wallace and others comment on Court decision". The Birmingham News . 22 July 1962. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  4. Brannon, Peter A. (1963). Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1963. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History. pp. 777–782. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  5. "Seven Counties To Vote Again Tuesday In Runoff Primaries". The Troy Messenger . Associated Press. 9 September 1962. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  6. "Shadow-Boxing In Lowndes County". The Montgomery Advertiser . 5 July 1962. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  7. "Legislative Candidates Withdraw From Runoffs". The Troy Messenger. Associated Press. 2 August 1962. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  8. Brannon, Peter A. (1963). Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1963. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History. p. 759. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  9. "Montgomery Wins Seat In Senate". Alabama Journal . Associated Press. 15 May 1962. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  10. "Tyson going in without runoff". The Birmingham News . 13 May 1962. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  11. Brannon, Peter A. (1963). Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1963. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History. pp. 722–726. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  12. Castleberry, Forrest (16 March 1959). "Tenth District Senate Vacancy Is Filled Today". Alabama Journal . Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  13. "Record Named To Senate Post". The Huntsville Times . 13 November 1961. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  14. Ward, Bob (22 June 1962). "Laxson Wins Senate Seat In Light Vote". The Huntsville Times . Retrieved 19 June 2025.