Heflin won the Democratic primary against Rep. Walter Flowers and faced only nominal opposition from Prohibition Party nominee Jerome Couch in the general election.
Howell Heflin, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court
Mac Newton
Margaret Stewart, perennial candidate
Gordon Tucker
Glenn Hewitt
Campaignedit
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]
Resultsedit
Heflin and Flowers both proceeded to a run-off election, where Heflin won by over 250,000 votes.
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 electionedit
Resultsedit
United States Senate election in Alabama, 1978[7][8]
1978, united, states, senate, election, alabama, held, november, 1978, incumbent, democratic, senator, john, sparkman, decided, retire, alabama, supreme, court, chief, justice, howell, heflin, elected, succeed, 1972, november, 1978, 1984, nominee, howell, hefl. 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 CouchParty Democratic ProhibitionPopular vote 547 054 34 951Percentage 93 99 6 01 County resultsHeflin 80 90 gt 90 U S senator before electionJohn SparkmanDemocratic Elected U S Senator Howell HeflinDemocraticDemocratic 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 Contents 1 Democratic primary 1 1 Candidates 1 2 Campaign 1 3 Results 2 Republican primary 2 1 Candidates 2 1 1 Withdrew 3 General election 3 1 Results 4 See also 5 ReferencesDemocratic primary editCandidates edit 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 HewittCampaign edit 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 edit 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 editCandidates edit Withdrew edit 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 editResults edit United States Senate election in Alabama 1978 7 8 Party Candidate Votes Democratic Howell Heflin 547 054 93 99 31 72Prohibition Jerome B Couch 34 951 6 01 N ATotal votes 582 005 100 00 N ADemocratic holdSee also edit1978 United States Senate elections 1978 Alabama gubernatorial electionReferences edit Martin Tolchin July 24 1977 AN OLD POL TAKES ON THE NEW PRESIDENT The New York Times Retrieved November 1 2018 The Fatal Vote to Impeach Time com August 5 1974 Archived from the original on October 1 2007 Retrieved June 22 2007 Martin Weil April 13 1984 Ex Rep Walter Flowers of Impeachment Panel Dies The New York Times Retrieved November 1 2018 Sally Quinn July 30 1978 Maryon Allen The Southerngirl in the Senate The Washington Post AL US Senate D Primary 1978 OurCampaigns com Retrieved October 10 2018 AL US Senate D Primary Runoff 1978 OurCampaigns com Retrieved October 10 2018 AL US Senate 1978 OurCampaigns com Retrieved October 10 2018 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives 1979 Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7 1978 PDF U S Government Printing Office Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1978 United States Senate election in Alabama amp oldid 1186300336, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
