1986 Alabama gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1986 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 1986 Alabama gubernatorial election saw the election of Republican H. Guy Hunt over Democrat Bill Baxley. In state politics, this election is largely seen as a realigning election since Hunt was the first Republican to be elected governor in 114 years – the last Republican to be elected was David P. Lewis in 1872 during the Reconstruction era. In March 1986, incumbent George Wallace announced that he would not seek a fifth term as governor, ending an era in Alabama politics.

1986 Alabama gubernatorial election

← 1982 November 4, 1986 1990 →

Nominee H. Guy Hunt Bill Baxley Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 696,203 537,163 Percentage 56.4% 43.6%

County results Hunt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Baxley:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election George Wallace Democratic Elected Governor H. Guy Hunt Republican

Though Alabama had supported Republicans in national elections, state and local elections were dominated by Democrats. Therefore many people anticipated that the winner of the Democratic primary would win the election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bill Baxley, Lieutenant Governor^[1]
• Charles Graddick, Attorney General of Alabama^[1]
• Fob James, former governor^[1]
• George McMillan, former lieutenant governor and candidate for governor in 1982^[1]
• Barbara E. O'Neal^[1]

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Baxley	345,985	36.80
	Democratic	Charlie Graddick	275,714	29.33
	Democratic	Fob James	195,844	20.83
	Democratic	George McMillan	117,258	12.47
	Democratic	Barbara E. O'Neal	5,287	0.56
Total votes			940,088	100.00

Democratic runoff results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlie Graddick	470,051	50.47
	Democratic	Bill Baxley	461,295	49.53
Total votes			931,346	100.00

Controversy

The Democratic primary brought out a number of candidates. It resulted in a runoff between Lieutenant Governor Bill Baxley and Attorney General Charles Graddick. Graddick, the more conservative of the two Democrats, won the runoff election by a slim margin. Baxley challenged the results, and claimed that Graddick violated Democratic Party rules by encouraging people who voted in the Republican primary to cross over and vote in the Democratic runoff election.^[3]

While Republicans in the state have held open primaries for years, the Democrats bar Republicans and Independents from voting in its primary election. This challenge went to the Alabama Supreme Court, which ruled that crossover voting had taken place in large numbers and that the Democratic Party either had to select Baxley as the nominee or hold another runoff election. The party opted to name Baxley as its nominee.^[4][5]

General election and aftermath

Results

1986 Alabama gubernatorial election^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Guy Hunt	696,203	56.45
	Democratic	Bill Baxley	537,163	43.55
Total votes			1,233,366	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

The selection of Baxley spurned a negative reaction from Graddick's supporters. As a result, they supported Guy Hunt in the general election, who won with 56 percent of the vote.

This election marked the transformation of politics in Alabama from a state dominated by many perspectives in one party to a two-party state.^[7]

References

1. "1986 Gubernatorial Democratic Primary Election Results - Alabama". US Election Atlas. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
2. "1986 Gubernatorial Democratic Runoff Election Results - Alabama". US Election Atlas. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
3. "HENDERSON v. GRADDICK | 641 F.Supp. 1192 (1986) | pp119211678". Leagle.com. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
4. "802 F2d 1302 Curry v. Baker J & D Graddick | OpenJurist".
5. Schmidt, William E. (August 2, 1986). "Alabama Democrats' Runoff for Governor is Thrown Out". The New York Times.
6. Kalb, Deborah, ed. (2010). Guide to U.S. Elections. Washington, DC: CQ Press. p. 1599. ISBN 978-1-60426-536-1.
7. "Article 404 - Tuscaloosa News - Tuscaloosa, AL".