Arkansas gubernatorial election, 1966
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Winthrop Rockefeller
Republican
The Arkansas gubernatorial election of November 8, 1966 was the first time since Reconstruction that a member of the Republican Party was elected governor.
The same year, during a midterm election, Republicans made some gains in the traditionally Democratic southern stronghold – including winning the governorship in Florida (also first time since Reconstruction), and narrowly losing the gubernatorial race in Georgia (when a GOP candidate won a plurality, but the Democratic-controlled legislature selected their own candidate).
Popular and powerful six-term (since 1955) incumbent Orval E. Faubus decided against seeking re-election. "Justice Jim" Johnson, a political ally of George C. Wallace of Alabama, ran a segregationist campaign with support of the White Citizens Council. A decade earlier, Johnson had run in the Democratic primary against Faubus, another segregationist, whom he accused of working behind the scenes for racial integration.
Holt was supported by many younger, more liberal, Democrats, such as future Governor and U.S. President Bill Clinton, who served as his campaign aide though he was not old enough to vote at the time.
A northeastern native, multimillionaire and scion of a prominent political/business family Winthrop Rockefeller was nominated with over 96% of the vote over Gus McMillan of Sheridan. Charges abounded that McMillan, a lifelong Democrat, was planted in the race by Faubus in order to force the Republicans to hold an expensive and needless primary. Rockefeller had been the GOP nominee in the 1964 election.
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