1962 Georgia gubernatorial election

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 1962 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary

| country = Georgia (U.S. state)

| type = presidential

| ongoing = no

| previous_election = 1958 Georgia gubernatorial election

| previous_year = 1958

| next_election = 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election

| next_year = 1966

| election_date = September 12, 1962

| flag_year = 1956

| image1 = File:Carl Sanders.jpg

| image_size = 150x150px

| nominee1 = Carl Sanders

| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)

| popular_vote1 = 494,978

| percentage1 = 58.07%

| image2 = File:Marvingriffin (cropped).gif

| nominee2 = Marvin Griffin

| party2 = Democratic Party (United States)

| popular_vote2 = 332,746

| percentage2 = 39.04%

| map_image = 1962 Georgia gubernatorial Democratic primary election results map by county.svg

| map_size = 240px

| map_caption = County results
Sanders: {{legend0|#a5b0ff|40-50%}} {{legend0|#7996e2|50-60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60-70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70-80%}} {{legend0|#3933e5|80-90%}}
Griffin: {{legend0|#e9ddaf|40-50%}} {{legend0|#d3bc5f|50-60%}} {{legend0|#c8ab37|60-70%}} {{legend0|#a0892c|70-80%}} {{legend0|#786721|80-90%}}

| title = Governor

| before_election = Ernest Vandiver

| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)

| after_election = Carl Sanders

| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{ElectionsGA}}

The 1962 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1962.

Carl Sanders won the Democratic primary on September 12 with 58.07% of the vote, defeating former governor Marvin Griffin. At this time, Georgia was a one-party state, and the Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory. Sanders won the November general election without an opponent.

This election was notable for a number of reasons. First, it was the last Georgia gubernatorial election to date where the Republican Party did not field a candidate. Second, the primary election was the first that took place under a winner-take-all system, as the previously used County Unit System had been struck down by the US Supreme Court in Gray v. Sanders.{{Cite web |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1381 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: County Unit System |access-date=2013-01-07 |archive-date=2012-12-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218123722/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1381 |url-status=dead }} Finally, upon election, Carl Sanders became the youngest governor of a state at the time (aged 37) and the first governor from an urban area since the 1920s.{{Cite web |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-673 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Carl Sanders (B. 1925) |access-date=2013-01-07 |archive-date=2012-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925190026/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-673 |url-status=dead }} He beat former governor Marvin Griffin in the Democratic primary.