Alabama gubernatorial election, 1970
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County results
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The Alabama gubernatorial election of 1970 was marked by a competitive Democratic primary battle between incumbent moderate Governor Albert Brewer and segregationist former Governor and 1968 independent presidential candidate George Wallace.
Despite Wallace's popularity, Brewer was seen as an early front-runner. Brewer, who had been elected Lieutenant Governor in 1966, had become Governor after the death of Governor Lurleen Wallace, George's wife. A moderate, he became the first gubernatorial candidate since Reconstruction to openly court black voters. Brewer, hoping to build a broad alliance between blacks and white working class voters, unveiled a progressive platform and accused Wallace of spending too much time outside the state, saying "Alabama needs a full-time governor.".
Republican President Richard Nixon endorsed Brewer in order to break Wallace's political career and secure Deep South votes for himself in the next presidential election (which could be carried again by Wallace, if he were to run again).
Wallace, whose presidential ambitions would have been destroyed with a defeat, ran a very aggressive and dirty campaign using racist rhetoric while proposing few ideas of his own. The Wallace campaign aired TV ads with slogans such as "Do you want the black block electing your governor?" and circulated an ad showing a white girl surrounded by seven black boys, with the slogan "Wake Up Alabama! Blacks vow to take over Alabama." Wallace called Brewer a sissy and promised not to run for president a third time.
Despite Brewer's victory in the primary, he failed to win a majority and was forced into a runoff with Wallace.
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