1994 Alabama gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1994 United States gubernatorial elections.

1994 Alabama gubernatorial election

←  1990 November 8, 1994 1998  →

Nominee Fob James Jim Folsom Jr. Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 604,926 594,169 Percentage 50.33% 49.43%

County results James:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Folsom:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

Governor before election Jim Folsom Jr. Democratic Elected Governor Fob James Republican

The 1994 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to select the governor of Alabama. The election saw Republican Fob James defeat incumbent Democrat Jim Folsom Jr. in an upset. This was the first of three consecutive Alabama gubernatorial elections where the incumbent was defeated. This was one of four gubernatorial elections where an incumbent Democrat was defeated in 1994.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary saw Jim Folsom defeat Paul Hubbert for the Democratic nomination. Lieutenant Governor Folsom became governor on April 22, 1993, after Republican Governor H. Guy Hunt was removed from office. ^[1]

Candidates

• Tom Hayden
• Paul Hubbert, Executive Secretary of the Alabama Education Association and nominee for governor in 1990
• Jim Folsom Jr., incumbent Governor
• F. Ross Stewart

Results

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Folsom Jr. (incumbent)	380,227	54.04
	Democratic	Paul Hubbert	285,554	40.58
	Democratic	F. Ross Stewart	24,354	3.46
	Democratic	Tom Hayden	13,532	1.92
Total votes			703,667	100

Republican primary

Fob James defeated five other candidates for the Republican nomination.

Candidates

• Ann Bedsole, State Senator
• Winton Blount III, businessman and son of former Postmaster General Winton Blount
• Fob James, former Democratic Governor
• Mickey Kirkland, pastor
• Jack Pollard, candidate for governor in 1990
• Robin Swift, businessman

Results

Republican primary results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fob James	84,021	39.54
	Republican	Ann Bedsole	54,450	25.63
	Republican	Winton Blount III	51,795	24.38
	Republican	Mickey Kirkland	18,538	8.72
	Republican	Robin Swift	3,138	1.48
	Republican	Jack Pollard	543	0.26
Total votes			212,485	100.00

Republican runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fob James	130,233	62.44
	Republican	Ann Bedsole	78,338	37.56
Total votes			208,571	100.00

General election

Polling

Source	Date	Fob James (R)	Jim Folsom Jr. (D)
WSFA-TV	November 6, 1994	40%	47%
WALA-TV	October 23, 1994	38%	49%

Results

Folsom led in the polls during the campaign which showed him 10 to 12 percent ahead of James on the last weekend before the election. However, James pulled off a narrow upset victory in the election. ^[4]

1994 Alabama gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fob James	604,926	50.33
	Democratic	Jim Folsom Jr. (incumbent)	594,169	49.43
	Write-in		2,874	0.24
Total votes			1,201,969	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

1. "James Elisha Folsom, Jr". Alabama Department of Archives & History. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
2. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=1&year=1994&f=0&off=5&elect=1 1994 Gubernatorial Democratic Primary Election Results – Alabama
3. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=1&year=1994&f=0&off=5&elect=2 1994 Gubernatorial Republican Primary Election Results – Alabama
4. "Jim Folsom learned his lesson". The Tuscaloosa News . November 12, 2006. Retrieved July 6, 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

• Recent Alabama gubernatorial election results

Preceded by 1990 election	Gubernatorial election in Alabama 1994	Succeeded by 1998 election