Alabama gubernatorial election, 1994

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Alabama gubernatorial election, 1994
Flag of Alabama.svg
  1990 November 8, 1994 1998  

  Reagan Contact Sheet C1331 (cropped2) (cropped).jpg Jim Folsom Jr..jpg
Nominee Fob James Jim Folsom Jr.
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote604,926594,169
Percentage50.3%49.4%

AL Gubernatorial Election, 1994.svg
County results

Governor before election

Jim Folsom, Jr.
Democratic

Elected Governor

Fob James
Republican

The 1994 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on 8 November 1994 to select the governor of the state of Alabama. The election saw Republican Fob James defeat Democratic incumbent Governor Jim Folsom Jr. in an upset.

Alabama State of the United States of America

Alabama is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. With a total of 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.

Republican Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Fob James American politician,  48th Governor of Alabama

Forrest Hood James Jr. is an American civil engineer, businessman, football player, and politician who served two terms as the 48th Governor of Alabama, from 1979–83 as a Democrat and again from 1995–99 as a Republican.

Contents

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]

A primary election is the process by which voters, either the general public or members of a political party, can indicate their preference for a candidate in an upcoming general election or by-election, thus narrowing the field of candidates.

H. Guy Hunt 49th Governor of Alabama

Harold Guy Hunt was an American politician and pastor who served as the 49th Governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Reconstruction.

Candidates

Paul R. Hubbert was a Democratic gubernatorial candidate from the U.S. state of Alabama. From 1969 to 2011, he was executive secretary-treasurer of the Alabama Education Association, a professional association for teachers. The organization serves many of the functions of a trade union, and is often referred to as such by news media and political opponents. State law prohibits public employees from being represented by a union per se, hence the designation.

Alabama Education Association

The Alabama Education Association (AEA) is a statewide professional organization that represents public school employees in the state of Alabama. It is based in the state capital of Montgomery. The AEA is the largest education association in Alabama and is an advocate organization that leads the movement for excellence in education and is the voice of education professionals in Alabama. AEA's mission is to promote education excellence. The AEA provides legal assistance, professional development opportunities, member benefits, and a strong voice for education in the Alabama Legislature. The AEA serves as the advocate for its members and leads in the advancement of equitable and quality public education for Alabama's diverse population. The AEA is an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization.

Results

Democratic primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jim Folsom, Jr. 380,22754.04
Democratic Paul Hubbert 285,55440.58
Democratic F. Ross Stewart24,3543.46
Democratic Tom Hayden13,5321.92
Total votes703,667100

Republican primary

Fob James defeated five other candidates for the Republican nomination.

Candidates

Ann Smith Bedsole, is a businesswoman, philanthropist, and a Republican politician from Mobile, Alabama. She is the first Republican woman to have been elected to the Alabama House of Representatives, in which she served from 1979 to 1983, and the first female ever elected to the Alabama State Senate, in which her tenure extended from 1983 to 1995.

Alabama Senate

The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens. Similar to the lower house, the Alabama House of Representatives, the Senate serves both without term limits and with a four-year term.

United States Postmaster General chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service

The Postmaster General of the United States is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service; Megan Brennan is the current Postmaster General.

Results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Fob James84,02139.54
Republican Ann Bedsole54,45025.63
Republican Winton Blount III51,79524.38
Republican Mickey Kirkland18,5388.72
Republican Robin Swift3,1381.48
Republican Jack Pollard5430.26
Total votes212,485100.00
Republican runoff results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Fob James130,23362.44
Republican Ann Bedsole78,33837.56
Total votes208,571100.00

General election results

Polling

SourceDateJames (R)Folsom (D)
WSFA-TV Nov. 6, 199440%47%
WALA-TV Oct. 23, 199438%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 gubernatorial election, Alabama
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Republican Fob James 604,926 50.3
Democratic Jim Folsom, Jr. 594,16949.4
Write-In2,8740.2
Majority10,7570.9
Turnout 1,201,96938.2

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References

  1. "James Elisha Folsom, Jr". Alabama Department of Archives & History. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  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 . 2006-11-12. Retrieved 2008-07-06.[ permanent dead link ]
Preceded by
1990 election
Gubernatorial election in Alabama
1994
Succeeded by
1998 election