Arkansas gubernatorial election, 1978
Encyclopedia
The Arkansas gubernatorial election of 1978, held on November 7, was the first time that future President of the United States
Bill Clinton
was elected Governor of Arkansas.
two-term Democratic
Governor David Pryor
decided to not seek re-election in order to run for the United States Senate
, as his predecessor and future Senate colleague Dale Bumpers
did.
Candidates:
Clinton, a former assistant to Senator J. William Fulbright
and since 1977 state Attorney General won nomination easily.
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor
Joe Purcell
was renominated for the second spot.
, a Texarkana
farmer, who served as state Republican Party
chairman from 1974-1980, was unopposed for the 1978 gubernatorial nomination. He had also been the Republican nominee for Arkansas's 4th congressional district
seat in 1966.
Clinton also led in fundraising. His campaign budget combined $709,234.00 while Lynn's was $171,382.
Clinton, at the age of thirty-two, became the youngest Arkansas governor, the youngest governor in the United States
since Harold E. Stassen won in Minnesota
in 1938 at the age of thirty-one, and the youngest governor in nation at this time. In 1992
he was elected third-youngest U.S. President.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
was elected Governor of Arkansas.
Democratic nomination
At this time, one gubernatorial term was two years. IncumbentIncumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
two-term Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Governor David Pryor
David Pryor
David Hampton Pryor is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966...
decided to not seek re-election in order to run for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, as his predecessor and future Senate colleague Dale Bumpers
Dale Bumpers
Dale Leon Bumpers is an American politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975; and then in the United States Senate from 1975 until his retirement in January 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Senator Bumpers is currently counsel at the Washington, D.C...
did.
Candidates:
- Attorney GeneralAttorney GeneralIn most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation... - Candidate for the 1976 nomination Frank Lady II
- Bob Mathis
- State RepresentativeArkansas House of RepresentativesThe Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
Monroe SchwarzloseMonroe SchwarzloseMonroe Alfred Julius Schwarzlose was a turkey farmer in Cleveland County, Arkansas, who polled 31 percent of the vote in the 1980 Democratic primary against the incumbent Governor and future U.S. President William Jefferson Blythe "Bill" Clinton, who was seeking his second two-year term... - Joe Woodward
Clinton, a former assistant to Senator J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
and since 1977 state Attorney General won nomination easily.
- Clinton - 341,118 (59.55%)
- Woodward - 123,674 (21.59%)
- Lady - 76,026 (13.27%)
- Mathis - 26,096 (4.56%)
- Schwarzlose - 5,898 (1.03%)
- Nabozny - 632 (.009%)
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
The Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas presides over the Arkansas Senate with a tie-breaking vote, serves as governor when the governor is out of state, and serves as governor if the governor is impeached, removed from office, dies or is otherwise unable to discharge the office's duties.The position...
Joe Purcell
Joe Purcell
Joseph Gregory Purcell -References:...
was renominated for the second spot.
Republican nomination
A. Lynn LoweLynn Lowe
Aylmer Lynn Lowe, known as A. Lynn Lowe , was a farmer and politician from Garland in Miller County in southwestern Arkansas, who was a major figure in the Arkansas Republican Party...
, a Texarkana
Texarkana, Arkansas
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,448 people, 10,384 households, and 7,040 families residing in the city. The population density was 830.5 people per square mile . There were 11,721 housing units at an average density of 368.1 per square mile...
farmer, who served as state Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
chairman from 1974-1980, was unopposed for the 1978 gubernatorial nomination. He had also been the Republican nominee for Arkansas's 4th congressional district
Arkansas's 4th congressional district
Arkansas's 4th congressional district is a congressional district located in the southern half of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Notable towns in the district include Camden, Hope, Hot Springs, Magnolia, Pine Bluff, and Texarkana....
seat in 1966.
Election result
Clinton won easily.- Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
(D) - 335,101 (63.36%) - A. Lynn LoweLynn LoweAylmer Lynn Lowe, known as A. Lynn Lowe , was a farmer and politician from Garland in Miller County in southwestern Arkansas, who was a major figure in the Arkansas Republican Party...
(R) - 193,746 (36.64%)
Clinton also led in fundraising. His campaign budget combined $709,234.00 while Lynn's was $171,382.
Clinton, at the age of thirty-two, became the youngest Arkansas governor, the youngest governor in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since Harold E. Stassen won in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
in 1938 at the age of thirty-one, and the youngest governor in nation at this time. In 1992
United States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
he was elected third-youngest U.S. President.