From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1954 Georgia gubernatorial election
none
none
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| election_name | 1954 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary |
| country | Georgia (U.S. state) |
| type | presidential |
| ongoing | no |
| previous_election | 1950 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| previous_year | 1950 |
| next_election | 1958 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| next_year | 1958 |
| election_date | September 8, 1954 |
| flag_year | 1920 |
| image1 | File:Marvingriffin (cropped).gif |
| image_size | 150x150px |
| nominee1 | Marvin Griffin |
| party1 | Democratic Party (United States) |
| popular_vote1 | 234,690 |
| percentage1 | 36.32% |
| electoral_vote1 | 302 |
| image2 | Melvin Thompson.png |
| nominee2 | Melvin E. Thompson |
| party2 | Democratic Party (United States) |
| popular_vote2 | 162,007 |
| percentage2 | 25.07% |
| electoral_vote2 | 56 |
| image3 | File:Tom Linder.png |
| nominee3 | Tom Linder |
| party3 | Democratic Party (United States) |
| popular_vote3 | 87,240 |
| percentage3 | 13.50% |
| electoral_vote3 | 26 |
| image4 | File:Fred Hand.png |
| nominee4 | Frederick Barrow Hand |
| party4 | Democratic Party (United States) |
| popular_vote4 | 78,125 |
| percentage4 | 12.09% |
| electoral_vote4 | 22 |
| image5 | File:Charlie Gowen.png |
| nominee5 | Charlie Gowen |
| party5 | Democratic Party (United States) |
| popular_vote5 | 73,809 |
| percentage5 | 11.42% |
| electoral_vote5 | 4 |
| map_image | File:1954 Georgia gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg |
| map_size | 250px |
| map_caption | County results |
| Griffin: | |
| Thompson: | |
| Linder: | |
| Hand: | |
| Gowen: | |
| title | Governor |
| before_election | Herman Talmadge |
| before_party | Democratic Party (United States) |
| after_election | Marvin Griffin |
| after_party | Democratic Party (United States) |
| needed_votes | 206 unit |
| votes_for_election | 410 county unit votes |
Griffin:
Thompson:
Linder:
Hand:
Gowen:
The 1954 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1954.
Lieutenant Governor Marvin Griffin won the Democratic primary on September 8 with 36.52% of the vote and 302 out of 410 county unit votes. At this time, Georgia was a one-party state, and the Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory. Griffin won the November general election without an opponent.
This was the final of Melvin Thompson's three failed bids for Governor.
Democratic primary
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
- Marvin Griffin, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
- Charlie Gowen, State Representative from Brunswick
- Frederick Barrow Hand, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives
- Tom Linder, Commissioner of Agriculture
- Melvin Thompson, former Governor (1947–48)
Results
General election
Results
References
References
- "County Unit System". Georgia County Clerks Association.
- "Eugene Talmadge". The African American Experience.
- (6 October 2011). "County Unit System, eh?". Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.
- (13 June 2017). "County Unit System".
- "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Primary Race - Sep 08, 1954".
- "Our Campaigns - GA Governor Race - Nov 02, 1954".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1954 Georgia gubernatorial election — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report