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50 Democratic National Convention delegates (45 pledged, 5 unpledged) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Alabama |
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A presidential primary was held in the U.S. state of Alabama on May 7, 1968, with runoff elections in some congressional districts on June 4, to elect delegates representing Alabama to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. A substantial number of Alabama's national convention delegates were pledged to former Governor George Wallace as a favorite son candidate, despite his wishes. Wallace did not seek or want the national Democratic nomination, instead opting for a third-party run. [b] Despite the state having its congressional maps redrawn after losing a seat in the 1960 United States Census, Alabama continued to use its nine old congressional districts from the 1950s for the purpose of electing delegates while simultaneously using the new eight districts for U.S. House of Representatives seats. [1]
Contents
- Results
- Runoff results by old congressional district
- First round results by old congressional district
- See also
- References
Of Alabama's fifty national delegate slots, only sixteen were up for election in May and June. Five of the thirty-four remaining delegates were party officers, or superdelegates, with twenty-nine running unopposed for their respective nominations. [2] Alabama's forty-five pledged delegates were split equally among its nine old congressional districts and elected to designated places. On May 7, 1968, twelve delegates were elected in the first round, ten pledged to Wallace, and two uncommitted. [3] The last four delegates were elected in the runoff; three for Wallace, and one uncommitted. On June 5, the day after the Democratic runoff, The Birmingham News determined that thirty-one delegates were pledged to George Wallace, eighteen were uncommitted, and one, Joe Reed of Montgomery, was pledged to Hubert Humphrey. [4]
The state's fifty delegates were worth thirty-two votes, with most delegates only receiving a half vote. By the 1968 Democratic National Convention, delegates pledged to Wallace from Alabama numbered 9½ votes, and 20½ uncommitted. Many delegates who refused to sign the loyalty pledge to the national party were refused from being seated and were replaced. At the roll call, Alabama's votes numbered 23 for Hubert Humphrey, 3½ for Ted Kennedy, 1½ for Crimson Tide head coach Bear Bryant, half a vote each for Wallace and governor of North Carolina Dan K. Moore, with three abstentions. [5]
