1964 Alabama Democratic presidential elector primary
May 5, 1964
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10 nominees for the Democratic presidential electoral slate | |||||||||||||||||||
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County results (unofficial and incomplete results for place 1, compiled by the The Birmingham News on May 7)
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| Elections in Alabama |
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| Government |
The 1964 Alabama Democratic presidential elector primary was held on May 5, 1964, to choose the ten nominees for presidential electors to be listed on the general election ballot under the Democratic party label in the 1964 United States presidential election in Alabama. In 1960, Alabama was the only state where both presidential electors and DNC delegates were elected by popular vote.[1] Instead of every candidate running in an at-large election, each candidate ran for a designated place, with the highest-placing candidates in each place receiving the nomination.
The election resulted in the nomination of ten unpledged electors not loyal to the national Democratic Party. Alabama was the only state in which Lyndon B. Johnson or electors pledged to him did not appear on the general election ballot in 1964.
Electoral slates
Unpledged electors
The following candidates were recruited to serve as unpledged electors:[2]
- Place 1: James Allen, 17th and 20th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama (1951–1955, 1963–1967)
- Place 2: Edmund Blair, newspaper publisher and independent elector in 1960
- Place 3: Albert Brewer, 58th Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives (1963–1967)
- Place 4: Albert H. Evans, state senator from Alabama's 19th Senate district (1962–1966)
- Place 5: MacDonald Gallion, 37th and 39th Attorney General of Alabama (1959–1963, 1967–1971)
- Place 6: Jack Giles, director of the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations (1963–1964)
- Place 7: Art Hanes, mayor of Birmingham, Alabama (1961–1963)
- Place 8: Pete Matthews, state senator from Alabama's 34th Senate district (1962–1966)
- Place 9: Frank Mizell, attorney and independent elector in 1960
- Place 10: Jud Scott, businessman
Pledged electors
The following candidates were recruited to serve as loyalist electors:[2]
- Place 1: Joseph N. Langan, mayor of Mobile, Alabama (1955–1956, 1957–1958, 1963–1964, 1965–1967)
- Place 2: J. E. Brantley, mayor of Banks, Alabama, loyalist elector in 1960
- Place 3: Barrett Shelton, newspaper publisher
- Place 4: John Sears Casey, state representative from Cleburne County (1959–1967)
- Place 5: Elbert Bertram Haltom Jr., state senator from Alabama's 1st Senate district (1958–1962)
- Place 6: H. Brandt Ayers, publisher of The Anniston Star
- Place 7: E. W. Skidmore, state senator from Alabama's 11th Senate district (1950–1958, 1966–1970)
- Place 8: C. G. Allen, loyalist elector in 1960
- Place 9: Karl Harrison, loyalist elector in 1960
- Place 10: J. K. Hardwick, mayor of Talladega, Alabama
Other candidates
The following candidates were not on either slate:[2]
- Place 1:
- Jerry Coe, former assistant attorney general
- John Crommelin, perennial candidate
- Place 2
- Ralph Price, perennial candidate
- John Watts, businessman
- Place 3: Oley B. Kelley, insurance man
Endorsements
Pledged
- Politicians
- John G. Burton, former mayor of Jasper, Alabama[3]
- J. Lister Hill, U.S. Senator from Alabama (1938–1969)[4]
- Albert Rains, U.S. Representative from Alabama's 5th congressional district (1945–1965)[5]
- James Record, chairman of the Madison County Commission[6]
- John Sparkman, U.S. Senator from Alabama (1946–1979)[4]
- Newspapers
- Alabama Journal[7]
- The Anniston Star[7]
- The Birmingham News[7]
- The Decatur Daily[7]
- The Huntsville Times[7]
- The Montgomery Advertiser[7]
- The Opelika-Auburn News[8]
- The Tuscaloosa News[7]
- Labor unions
- Political parties
Unpledged
- Politicians
- George Wallace, 45th Governor of Alabama (1963–1967, 1971–1979, 1983–1987) and 1964 presidential primary candidate[11]
- Newspapers
- Birmingham Post-Herald[7]
- The Clayton Record[11]
- The Dothan Eagle[7]
- The Florence Times[7]
- The Selma Times-Journal[7]
- The Talladega Daily Home[7]
Organizations
Results
| Place | Unpledged electors | Pledged electors | Others | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | Candidate | Votes | % | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| 1st | James Allen | 516,027 | 83.02% | Joseph N. Langan | 83,968 | 13.51% | Jerry Koe John Crommelin |
11,475 10,114 |
1.85% 1.63% |
621,584 |
| 2nd | Edmund Blair | 460,663 | 79.40% | J. E. Brantley | 98,741 | 17.02% | Ralph Price John Watts |
11,268 9,496 |
1.94% 1.64% |
580,168 |
| 3rd | Albert Brewer | 504,716 | 82.71% | Barrett Shelton | 87,997 | 14.42% | Oley B. Kelley | 17,537 | 2.87% | 610,250 |
| 4th | Albert Evans | 477,854 | 79.56% | John Sears Casey | 122,786 | 20.44% | — | 600,640 | ||
| 5th | MacDonald Gallion | 512,745 | 83.70% | Elbert Bertram Haltom Jr. | 99,863 | 16.30% | — | 612,608 | ||
| 6th | Jack Giles | 481,763 | 81.60% | H. Brandt Ayers | 108,662 | 18.40% | — | 590,425 | ||
| 7th | Art Hanes | 493,975 | 82.11% | E. W. Skidmore | 107,619 | 17.89% | — | 601,594 | ||
| 8th | Pete Matthews | 421,499 | 77.34% | C. G. Allen | 123,496 | 22.66% | — | 544,995 | ||
| 9th | Frank Mizell | 490,992 | 81.67% | Karl Harrison | 110,168 | 18.33% | — | 601,160 | ||
| 10th | Jud Scott | 483,133 | 81.01% | J. K. Hardwick | 113,258 | 18.99% | — | 596,391 | ||
References
- ^ Wortsman, Gene (11 May 1960). "Alabama Is Most Democratic State In Choosing Electors, Delegates". Birmingham Post-Herald. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "Pledged, Unpledged Elector Candidates". Birmingham Post-Herald. 4 May 1964. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ "Former Jasper Mayor Endorses Pledged Elector Candidates". The LaFayette Sun. 29 April 1964. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ a b Pearson, Ted (5 April 1964). "Unpledged slate expected to win but scrap brewing". The Birmingham News. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ "Rains Urges Support Of Pledged Electors". The LaFayette Sun. 22 April 1964. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ a b Austin, Bill J. (12 April 1964). "Madison County Demo Committee Endorses Pledged Elector Slate". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "State Papers Divided On Choice Of Electors". The Dothan Eagle. Associated Press. 30 April 1965. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ "The Presidential Electors Issue". The Opelika-Auburn News. 29 April 1964. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ Pearson, Ted (26 April 1964). "State labor ignores Wallace in primary". The Birmingham News. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ "The Lauderdale County Democratic Executive Committee". Birmingham Post-Herald. 27 April 1964. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Unpledged Electors Endorsed". The Clayton Record. 16 April 1964. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ "Council Endorses Unpledged Slate". Alabama Journal. 13 April 1964. Retrieved 12 September 2025.