1936 Georgia gubernatorial election
{{Short description|none}}
{{for|related races|1936 United States gubernatorial elections}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1936 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary
| country = Georgia (U.S. state)
| flag_year = 1920
| type = Presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1934 Georgia gubernatorial election
| previous_year = 1934
| next_election = 1938 Georgia gubernatorial election
| next_year = 1938
| election_date = September 9, 1936
| image1 = x150px
| nominee1 = Eurith D. Rivers
| electoral_vote1 = 372
| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 233,503
| percentage1 = 59.98%
| image2 = x150px
| nominee2 = Charles D. Redwine
| electoral_vote2 = 30
| party2 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 123,095
| percentage2 = 31.62%
| image3 = x100px
| nominee3 = Blanton Fortson
| electoral_vote3 = 8
| party3 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote3 = 32,715
| percentage3 = 8.40%
| map_image = File:1936 Georgia gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg
| map_size = 250px
| map_caption = County results
Rivers: {{legend0|#bdd3ff|30-40%}} {{legend0|#a5b0ff|40-50%}} {{legend0|#7996e2|50-60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60-70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70-80%}} {{legend0|#3933e5|80-90%}}
Redwine: {{legend0|#e9ddaf|40-50%}} {{legend0|#d3bc5f|50-60%}} {{legend0|#c8ab37|60-70%}}
Fortson: {{legend0|#ffd4ff|40-50%}} {{legend0|#ff67ff|80-90%}}
| title = Governor
| before_election = Eugene Talmadge
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = Eurith D. Rivers
| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes_for_election = 410 county unit votes
| needed_votes = 206 unit
}}
{{ElectionsGA}}
The 1936 Georgia gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1936, in order to elect the governor of Georgia.
Incumbent Democratic governor Eugene Talmadge was term-limited, and would become eligible to run for a third term only after spending four years out of office (thus in 1940).{{Cite web |title=1877 Georgia constitution, Article V, Section I, Paragraph II |url=https://www.georgiaarchives.org/assets/documents/research/1877_Georgia_Constitution.pdf |website=Georgia State Archive |quote=The Executive power shall be vested in a Governor, who shall hold his office during the term of two years, and until his successor shall be chosen and qualified. He shall not be eligible to re-election, after the expiration of a second term, for the period of four years.}} Talmadge instead ran for the U.S. Senate.
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. Despite the token opposition from Prohibition nominee L.P. Glass, this was the first gubernatorial election to have a non-Democrat on the ballot since the 1912 special election.
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary election was held on September 9, 1936. As Rivers 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiacca.com/unit.cfm |title=County Unit System |publisher=Georgia County Clerks Association |access-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531162547/http://www.georgiacca.com/unit.cfm |archive-date=31 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}
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.{{cite web |url=http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=GR4181&chapterID=GR4181-6373&path=encyclopedias/greenwood |title=Eugene Talmadge |website=The Jim Crow Encyclopedia |publisher=The African American Experience |access-date=12 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123030046/http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=GR4181&chapterID=GR4181-6373&path=encyclopedias%2Fgreenwood |archive-date=23 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://rbrl.blogspot.com/2011/10/county-unit-system-eh.html |title=County Unit System, eh? |date=6 October 2011 |publisher=Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies |access-date=8 June 2020}}
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.{{cite web |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/county-unit-system |title=County Unit System |last1=Buchanan |first1=Scott |date=13 June 2017 |website=New Georgia Encyclopedia |access-date=8 June 2020}}
=Candidates=
- Blanton Fortson, Georgia Superior Court judge{{cite news |author= |title=Primary will test Talmadge record |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1936-09-06/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1936&index=2&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Fortson+Redwine+Rivers&proxdistance=5&date2=1936&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=rivers+fortson+redwine&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |work=Evening Star |location=Washington, D.C. |date=6 September 1936 |page=A-5 |access-date=13 June 2020 }}
- Charles D. Redwine, President of the Georgia State Senate{{cite news |author= |title=Talmadge beaten in Georgia race |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1936-09-10/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1936&index=1&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Fortson+Redwine+Rivers&proxdistance=5&date2=1936&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=rivers+fortson+redwine&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |work=Evening Star |location=Washington, D.C. |date=10 September 1936 |page=1 |access-date=13 June 2020 }}
- Eurith D. Rivers, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives and unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination for governor in 1928 and 1930
=Results=
{{Election results
|firstround=Popular vote
|secondround=County unit vote
|cand1=Eurith D. Rivers|votes1=233503|votes1_2=372
|cand2=Charles D. Redwine|votes2=123095|votes2_2=30
|cand3=Blanton Fortson|votes3=32715|votes3_2=8
|source={{sfn|Congressional Quarterly|1998|p=107}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=378445 |title=GA Governor, 1936 - D Primary |publisher=Our Campaigns |access-date=13 June 2020}}{{sfn|Georgia Register|1937|pp=542-545}}
}}
General election
In the general election, Rivers faced token opposition.
=Results=
{{Election box begin | title=1936 Georgia gubernatorial election{{sfn|Congressional Quarterly|1998|p=48}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262944 |title=GA Governor, 1936 |publisher=Our Campaigns |access-date=13 June 2020}}{{sfn|Glashan|1979|pp=68-69}}{{sfn|Georgia Register|1937|pp=657}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Eurith D. Rivers
| votes = 263,140
| percentage = 99.67%
| change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
| party = Prohibition Party
| candidate = L. P. Glass
| votes = 873
| percentage = 0.33%
| change =
}}
{{Election box turnout|
| votes = 264,013
| percentage = 100.00%
| change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
| loser =
| swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |title=Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Congressional Quarterly Inc. |publication-date=1998 |isbn=1-56802-396-0 | ref={{SfnRef|Congressional Quarterly|1998}}}}
- {{cite book |last = Glashan | first = Roy R. | title = American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978 | publisher = Meckler Books | year = 1979 | isbn = 0-930466-17-9 }}
- {{cite book |author=Compiled by Mrs. J.E. Hays, State Historian and Director |date=1937 |title=Georgia's Official Register, 1933-1935-1937 |url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/statreg-images/pdfs/1933.pdf |location=Atlanta, GA |publisher=State of Georgia, Department of Archives and History | ref = {{SfnRef|Georgia Register|1937}}}}
{{1936 United States elections}}