1978 United States Senate special election in Alabama

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1978 United States Senate special election in Alabama
Flag of Alabama.svg
←  1974 November 7, 1978 1980  →
  Donald W. Stewart.png James D. Martin.jpg
Nominee Donald W. Stewart James D. Martin
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote401,852316,170
Percentage54.93%43.22%
1978 United States Senate special election in Alabama results map by county.svg
County results
Stewart:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Martin:      50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Maryon Pittman Allen
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Donald W. Stewart
Democratic

The 1978 United States Senate special election in Alabama was held on November 7, 1978. It was a special election to fill the seat which had been held by Senator Jim Allen, who died on June 1. His widow Maryon was appointed on June 8 by governor George Wallace to fill the vacancy until a special election could be held. [1]

Contents

Democratic state senator Donald W. Stewart defeated Allen in the Democratic primary then defeated former Republican Congressman James D. Martin to serve the remaining two years of the term.

Primary elections were held on September 5, 1978, with the Democratic runoff held on September 26, 1978.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary first round results by county .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Pittman Allen 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Stewart 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% Taylor 60-70% 40-50% Wiley 40-50% 1978 United States Senate special Democratic primary election in Alabama results map by county.svg
Democratic primary first round results by county
  Pittman Allen
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Stewart
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  Taylor
  •   60–70%
  •   40–50%
  Wiley
  •   40–50%
Primary election results [5] [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Maryon Pittman Allen (incumbent)334,15644.51%
Democratic Donald W. Stewart259,79534.61%
Democratic Ted Taylor70,8949.44%
Democratic Dan Wiley66,6898.88%
Democratic Gene Myracle19,1662.55%
Total votes750,700 100.00%

Runoff results

Democratic primary runoff results by county Stewart 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Pittman Allen 50-60% 60-70% 1978 United States Senate special Democratic primary runoff in Alabama results map by county.svg
Democratic primary runoff results by county
  Stewart
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Pittman Allen
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Primary runoff election results [5] [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Donald W. Stewart 502,346 57.20%
Democratic Maryon Pittman Allen (incumbent)375,89442.80%
Total votes878,240 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results by county Nichols 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% >90% McCary 50-60% 60-70% 80-90% >90% No Vote 1978 United States Senate special Republican primary election in Alabama results map by county.svg
Republican primary results by county
  Nichols
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%
  McCary
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%
  No Vote
Primary election results [9] [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican George W. Nichols 15,637 72.47%
Republican Elvin McCary5,94127.53%
Total votes21,578 100.00%

Withdrew

Nichols withdrew from the race in order that James D. Martin, former U.S. Representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district, who had been nominated to run in the concurrent regular Senate election, could switch races. [10]

General election

Results

United States Senate special election in Alabama, 1978 [11] [12] [13] [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Donald W. Stewart 401,852 54.93%
Republican James D. Martin 316,17043.22%
Libertarian Michael R. A. Erdey6,0060.82%
Prohibition A. J. Killingsworth5,8140.80%
Peace and Freedom Joseph T. Robino1,7680.24%
Majority85,68211.74%
Turnout 731,610
Democratic hold

Bibliography

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Maryon Pittman Allen", Women in Congress (website), Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, archived from the original on January 1, 2012, retrieved March 3, 2012
  2. ↑ "Myracle to file". Alabama Journal. Montgomery, Alabama. June 15, 1978. p. 35. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Who is Ted Taylor?". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. July 27, 1978. p. 18. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Wiley: Mrs. Allen okay after all". The Anniston Star. Anniston, Alabama. September 16, 1978. p. 8. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 104.
  6. ↑ "AL US Senate – Special D Primary, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  7. ↑ "AL US Senate – Special D Primary Runoff, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Former Democrats McCary, Nichols vie for GOP nomination to Sen. Allen's seat". The Anniston Star. Anniston, Alabama. August 27, 1978. p. 14. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  9. ↑ "AL US Senate – Special R Primary, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Martin to switch to Stewart race?". The Anniston Star. Anniston, Alabama. October 2, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  11. ↑ "AL US Senate - Special Election, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  12. ↑ Scammon, Richard M.; McGillivray, Alice V.., eds. (November 30, 1979). America Votes 13: a handbook of contemporary American election statistics, 1978. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc. (published 1979). p. 37. ISBN   9780871871831.
  13. ↑ Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 81.
  14. ↑ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.
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