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1948 Georgia gubernatorial special election

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FieldValue
election_name1948 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary
countryGeorgia (U.S. state)
flag_year1920
typePresidential
ongoingno
previous_election1946 Georgia gubernatorial election
previous_year1946
next_election1950 Georgia gubernatorial election
next_year1950
election_dateSeptember 8, 1948
image1File:HermanTalmadge.jpg
image_size150x150px
nominee1Herman Talmadge
party1Democratic Party (United States)
electoral_vote1312
popular_vote1357,865
percentage151.77%
image2Melvin Thompson.png
nominee2Melvin E. Thompson
party2Democratic Party (United States)
electoral_vote298
popular_vote2312,035
percentage245.14%
map_imageFile:1948 Georgia gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg
map_size250px
map_captionCounty results
Talmadge:
Thompson:
titleGovernor
before_electionMelvin E. Thompson
before_partyDemocratic Party (United States)
after_electionHerman Talmadge
after_partyDemocratic Party (United States)
votes_for_election410 county unit votes
needed_votes206 unit

Talmadge:
Thompson:
The 1948 Georgia gubernatorial special election took place on November 2, 1948, in order to elect the Governor of Georgia.

The Supreme Court of Georgia resolved the three governors controversy in the wake of the 1946 election by affirming lieutenant governor-elect Melvin E. Thompson's succession to the office of governor. The state constitution in effect at the time then required a special election to be held simultaneously with the next state legislative election to fill the remainder of the term.

Herman Talmadge, the son of the winner of the 1946 election, the late Eugene Talmadge, defeated Governor Thompson in the Democratic primary by a margin of 51.8% to 45.1% with three other candidates getting 3.1% of the vote and then proceeded to win the general election with 97.51% of the vote.

As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran with only token opposition in the general election so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on September 8, 1948. As Talmadge won a majority of county unit votes, there was no run-off.

County unit system

From 1917 until 1962, the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia used a voting system called the county unit system to determine victors in statewide primary elections.

The system was ostensibly designed to function similarly to the Electoral College, but in practice the large ratio of unit votes for small, rural counties to unit votes for more populous urban areas provided outsized political influence to the smaller counties.

Under the county unit system, the 159 counties in Georgia were divided by population into three categories. The largest eight counties were classified as "Urban", the next-largest 30 counties were classified as "Town", and the remaining 121 counties were classified as "Rural". Urban counties were given 6 unit votes, Town counties were given 4 unit votes, and Rural counties were given 2 unit votes, for a total of 410 available unit votes. Each county's unit votes were awarded on a winner-take-all basis.

Candidates were required to obtain a majority of unit votes (not necessarily a majority of the popular vote), or 206 total unit votes, to win the election. If no candidate received a majority in the initial primary, a runoff election was held between the top two candidates to determine a winner.

Candidates

  • Hoke O'Kelley, businessman
  • Joseph A. Rabun, pastor
  • Herman Talmadge, former Governor, removed from office during the three governors controversy
  • Melvin E. Thompson, incumbent Governor
  • Hoke Willis, railroad clerk

Results

General election

In the general election, Talmadge faced token opposition.

Results

Barfoot was a candidate of the Progressive Party.

References

Bibliography

References

  1. {{cite court. (1947). link
  2. "1945 Constitution of Georgia".
  3. "Herman Talmadge (1913-2002)".
  4. "Melvin E. Thompson (1903-1980)".
  5. "GA Governor, 1948 - Special D Primary". Our Campaigns.
  6. "County Unit System". Georgia County Clerks Association.
  7. "Eugene Talmadge". The African American Experience.
  8. (6 October 2011). "County Unit System, eh?". Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.
  9. (13 June 2017). "County Unit System".
  10. . ["Hoke O'Kelley Memorial Library"](http://emoryhistory.emory.edu/facts-figures/places/names/oxford/okelley-library.html).
  11. Rev. William C. Kernan. (24 January 1947). "The Common Defense". The Ithacan.
  12. . (27 August 1948). ["Qualifications Of Candidates Listed"](https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/30832/1948-08-27_32_02.pdf). *The Technique*.
  13. . (25 September 1948). ["Fire damages Barfoot home, 2 buildings"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39919333/19480925-article-fire-destroys-part-of/). *The Atlanta Constitution*.
  14. "GA Governor, 1948 - Special Election". Our Campaigns.
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