Heflin won the Democratic primary against Rep.Walter Flowers and faced only nominal opposition from Prohibition Party nominee Jerome Couch in the general election.
Prior to 1978, Alabama had never popularly elected any Senator from a party other than theDemocratic Party, and Democratic candidates typically faced nominal opposition in the general election. Therefore, victory in the Democratic primary was consideredtantamount to election.
Incumbent DemocratJohn Sparkman declined to seek a seventh consecutive term in office. Senator Sparkman retired as the longest-serving Senator in Alabama history.
Alabama Supreme Court Chief JusticeHowell Heflin and CongressmanWalter Flowers of Tuscaloosa were the leading candidates. Heflin came from a noted Alabama political family which included former SenatorJames Thomas Heflin, a famous advocate ofwhite supremacy. Flowers was a strong ally of GovernorGeorge Wallace, a critic of PresidentJimmy Carter,[1] and had cast a crucial vote to impeach PresidentRichard Nixon, despite Nixon's strong support in the state.[2][3]
During the campaign, Heflin attempted to tie himself to the late SenatorJames Allen. He was rebuffed by Allen's widow, Maryon, who succeeded her husband as Senator and supported Flowers. Maryon noted that Heflin worked for her husband's primary opponent during the 1974 campaign.[4]
After James Martin withdrew from the race to run in the concurrentspecial election to fill the late Senator Allen's seat, the Republican Party was left without a candidate for this election.
