1978 United States Senate election in Alabama

The 1978 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Sparkman decided to retire and Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Howell Heflin was elected to succeed him.

1978 United States Senate election in Alabama

← 1972 November 7, 1978 1984 →

Nominee Howell Heflin Jerome B. Couch Party Democratic Prohibition Popular vote 547,054 34,951 Percentage 93.99% 6.01%

County results Heflin:      80–90%      >90%

U.S. senator before election John Sparkman Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Howell Heflin Democratic

Democratic primary first round results by county

  Heflin

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

  Flowers

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80-90%

  Baker

•   40–50%
•   50-60%
•   60–70%

Democratic primary runoff results by county

  Heflin

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

  Flowers

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Heflin won the Democratic primary against Rep. Walter Flowers and faced only nominal opposition from Prohibition Party nominee Jerome Couch in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John Baker, Alabama State Senator
• Walter Flowers, U.S. Representative
• Howell Heflin, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court
• Mac Newton
• Margaret Stewart, perennial candidate
• Gordon Tucker
• Glenn Hewitt

Campaign

Prior to 1978, Alabama had never popularly elected any Senator from a party other than the Democratic Party, and Democratic candidates typically faced nominal opposition in the general election. Therefore, victory in the Democratic primary was considered tantamount to election.

Incumbent Democrat John Sparkman declined to seek a seventh consecutive term in office. Senator Sparkman retired as the longest-serving Senator in Alabama history.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Howell Heflin and Congressman Walter Flowers of Tuscaloosa were the leading candidates. Heflin came from a noted Alabama political family which included former Senator James Thomas Heflin, a famous advocate of white supremacy. Flowers was a strong ally of Governor George Wallace, a critic of President Jimmy Carter,^[1] and had cast a crucial vote to impeach President Richard Nixon, despite Nixon's strong support in the state.^[2][3]

During the campaign, Heflin attempted to tie himself to the late Senator James Allen. He was rebuffed by Allen's widow, Maryon, who succeeded her husband as Senator and supported Flowers. Maryon noted that Heflin worked for her husband's primary opponent during the 1974 campaign.^[4]

Results

Heflin and Flowers both proceeded to a run-off election, where Heflin won by over 250,000 votes.

Primary election results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howell Heflin	369,270	48.37%
	Democratic	Walter Flowers	236,894	31.03%
	Democratic	John Baker	101,110	13.24%
	Democratic	Mac Newton	18,709	2.45%
	Democratic	Margaret E. Stewart	17,562	2.35%
	Democratic	Gordon Tucker	10,206	2.35%
	Democratic	Glenn Hewett	9,702	1.27%
Total votes			763,453	100.00%

Primary runoff election results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howell Heflin	556,685	64.93%
	Democratic	Walter Flowers	300,654	35.07%
Total votes			857,339	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrew

• James D. Martin, former U.S. Representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district (to run in the special election)

After James Martin withdrew from the race to run in the concurrent special election to fill the late Senator Allen's seat, the Republican Party was left without a candidate for this election.

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Alabama, 1978^[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Howell Heflin	547,054	93.99%	+31.72
	Prohibition	Jerome B. Couch	34,951	6.01%	N/A
Total votes			582,005	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1978 United States Senate elections
• 1978 Alabama gubernatorial election

References

1. Martin Tolchin (July 24, 1977). "AN OLD POL TAKES ON THE NEW PRESIDENT". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
2. "The Fatal Vote to Impeach". Time. August 5, 1974. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2007.
3. Martin Weil (April 13, 1984). "Ex-Rep. Walter Flowers of Impeachment Panel Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
4. Sally Quinn (July 30, 1978). "Maryon Allen - The Southerngirl in the Senate". The Washington Post.
5. "AL US Senate – D Primary, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
6. "AL US Senate – D Primary Runoff, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
7. "AL US Senate, 1978". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
8. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.