1978 Alabama Senate election

← 1974 November 8, 1978 1982 →
All 35 seats in theAlabama State Senate 18 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Joe Fine (retired) — Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 14, 1975[1] — Leader's seat 2nd–Franklin — Last election 35 seats, 92.75% 0 seats, 3.03% Seats before 34 0 Seats won 35 0 Seat change 1 Popular vote 126,341[a] 55,814 Percentage 68.91% 30.44%   Third party   Party Independent Last election 0 seats, 1.09% Seats before 1 Seats won 0 Seat change 1 Popular vote 1,183 Percentage 0.65%
District results Democratic:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     90–100%     Unopposed
President pro tempore before election Joe Fine Democratic ElectedPresident pro tempore Finis St. John Democratic

The1978 Alabama Senate election took place on Tuesday, November 8, 1978, to elect 35 representatives to serve four-year terms in theAlabama Senate. The result was anelectoral wipeout, as all 35 candidates elected were members of theDemocratic Party. While 35 districts were up for election, only 9 saw Republican opposition.^[2] Both of the state's Black senators,U. W. Clemon andJ. Richmond Pearson, won re-election, with the newly electedMichael Figures joining their ranks.^[3]

Primary elections were held on September 5 withrunoffs on September 26. This election used the same legislative map as was used in 1974, utilizingsingle-member districts.

Incumbent presidentpro tempore Joe Fine did not run for another term, instead opting for an attorney general campaign, which was unsuccessful.^[4] Finis St. John was unanimously elected president on January 9, 1979.^[5]

Party		Candidates			Seats
		Num.	Vote	%	1974	Before	Won	+/–
	Democratic	35	126,341	68.91%	35	34	35	1
	Republican	9	55,814	30.44%	0	0	0
	Independents	1	1,183	0.65%	0	1	0	1
Total		45	183,338	100%	35

†: Incumbent did not run for reelection.‡: Lost re-election.

The following candidates retired or sought other offices:^[6]

The following candidates did not see any competition in the general election:

Democrats contested every seat in the state senate. Of the 35 incumbent Democratic senators, only 16 sought election (46 percent). Of the 16 who sought re-election:

• 5 were re-nominated unopposed;
• 5 won their primaries;
• 6 lost their primaries.

Candidates inboldface advanced to the general election. An asterisk (*) denotes a runoff winner who was the runner-up in the first round.

Candidates inboldface advanced to either the general election or a runoff, first-place winners with an asterisk (*) did not face a runoff.

The following candidates were the only candidates to file for their district's Democratic primary

• District 4: Finis St. John (inc.)
• District 9: Hinton Mitchem
• District 12: Pat Vacca (inc.)
• District 13: J. Richmond Pearson (inc.)
• District 18: Lester Hill Proctor (inc.)
• District 22: Dutch Higginbotham (inc.)
• District 34: Sonny Callahan

Republicans contested nine state senate seats. Due to a general lack of Republican candidates across the state, only one of these districts, District 11, required a primary.

The following candidates were the only candidates to file for their district's Republican primary:

• District 10: Jimmy Dill
• District 12: Evan Veal
• District 18: Tom Longshore
• District 24: Richard A. Britt
• District 26: Bob E. Allen
• District 27: Herbert Morton
• District 33: James B. Norsworthy
• District 35: Danny Perry

A special election in District 19 was triggered by the resignation of incumbent Democratic senator Bobby Weaver after he plead guilty to embezzlement charges in January 1976.^[11] State representativeJohn Teague won the special election to succeed him.

A special election in District 29 was triggered by the death of incumbent Democratic senatorWalter C. Givhan on February 18, 1976.Republican national committeewoman Jean Sullivan and businessman Earl Goodwin both sought the seat. An apparent miscount inDallas County put Sullivan ahead, but Goodwin took the lead after the mistake was discovered. Earl Goodwin spent over $20,000 on his successful state senate bid, spending about $15,000 on advertising.^[15] In 1976, Alabama lacked any sort of provision providing for an automatic recount in a general or general special election. Sullivan considered contesting the results of the race into late September. On September 28, the deadline to file a recount, Sullivan stated that she would not contest the results, saying she "regrets that the recount cannot be done because so many people want to know the truth about the election."^[16][17]

A special election in District 25 was triggered after incumbent Democratic senator Crum Foshee was forced to vacate his seat due to a mail fraud conviction. Radio station owner Wallace Miller easily won the special election. Over a year after Foshee's initial conviction, theFifth Circuit Court reversed Foshee's conviction, ruling that he and his brother were entitled to a new trial. Under state law, lawmakers are disqualified from holding office if they are sentenced to prison, however they "shall be returned to office" if a conviction is overturned.^[19][20] On March 21, 1978, the Senate voted to reinstate Foshee 29 to 0. Wallace Miller abstained from the vote, and there was no animosity reported between the two, withLieutenant governorJere Beasley stating "it was like a mother choosing between two children."^[21] In the 1978 primaries, Foshee declined to run again, with Wallace Miller once again being elected state senator.

Motion to reinstate Crum Foshee

Choice	Votes
Y Yes	29
N No	0
Abstentions	2
Not voting	4
Crum Fosheereinstated

A special election in District 1 was triggered after incumbent Democratic senatorRonnie Flippo resigned in November 1976. He was electedU.S. Representative in November 1976, but resigned from his state senate post early to allow for an earlier special election to take place.^[23] FormerFlorence city councilor Oscar Peden, who described himself as an "Independent Democrat", won in anupset over Democratic attorney Jimmy Hunt, who was backed by the state Democratic executive committee and governorGeorge Wallace.^[24] Oscar Peden attempted to run for re-election as a Democrat in 1978, but was eliminated in the Democratic primary.

A special election in Senate District 22 was triggered after incumbent Democratic senatorC. C. Torbert Jr.'s election to the Alabama Supreme Court in 1976. Democratic member of theAlabama House of RepresentativesG. J. Higginbotham defeated independent Frank Roberts for the seat.^[25]

A special election in District 18 was triggered by the resignation of incumbent Democratic senator Obie Littleton after his sentencing to prison for fraud.^[26] Lister Hill Proctor won the election to succeed Littleton.

• 1978 United States Senate election in Alabama
• 1978 Alabama gubernatorial election
• List of Alabama state legislatures

• 1978 Alabama elections
• Alabama Senate elections
• 1978 state legislature elections in the United States
• November 1978 in the United States

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