Chapter 12: Gearing up for 1982 Midterms (Spring 1982: Part III)
Sergeant Foley
Well-known member
MATCHUPS TO WATCH IN THE 1982 MIDTERMS: US STATE/TERRITORY GOVERNORSHIPS
Spring 1982
*ALABAMA (OPEN): Over inside the Land of Dixie, Alabama Governor Forrest Hood "Fob" James (D) announced he wasn't seeking reelection to a second term in 1982. Almost immediately, the Alabama Democratic Party turned to former three-term Alabama Governor George Corley Wallace (D) , the 1976 Democratic Party presidential nominee, who got humiliated in the Rockefeller Landslide that year. Wallace had since renounced his controversial support of segregation and controversial segregationist policies that defined his previous terms in office; appealing to African Americans and others for their forgiveness due to the massive damage he caused. Meanwhile, the Republican nominee will almost certainly be controversial Montgomery Mayor Emory Folmar (R), whose known for outright controversy himself. Polling surveys suggest Wallace will easily cruise to securing a record fourth term in returning to the Alabama Governor's Mansion in Montgomery. Spring 1982
*ALASKA (OPEN): With Alaska Governor Jay Sterner Hammond (R) term limited from succeeding himself for a third consecutive term in 1982, Alaskans can expect a crowded free-for-all inside the North Frontier State as the battle to succeed Hammond will be quite intriguing.
*ARIZONA: Having ascended to the Governorship upon the sudden death of then-Arizona Governor Wesley Bolin (D) on 4 March 1978, incumbent Arizona Governor Bruce Edward Babbitt (D) won a full four-year term in his own right defeating Phoenix automobile dealership businessman Evan Mecham (R) in 1978, has led the Grand Canyon State with plenty of key critical accomplishments in spite of facing a Republican-controlled State Legislature. Arizonans rated Babbitt's job performance as good or excellent depending on whom you've asked. Oddsmakers expect Babbitt to easily win a second full four-year term in 1982 and maybe beyond if he wants to.
*ARKANSAS: The Natural State will see the battle of the Governors between controversial incumbent Arkansas Governor Frank Durward White (R) vs former Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton (D) as Arkansans will have to decide whom to put back into the Governor's Mansion.
*CALIFORNIA (OPEN): Californians were stunned and shocked when two-term incumbent California Governor Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr., (D) Edmund, the son of California's 32nd Governor Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr., (D) who served from 5 January 1959 to 2 January 1967, announced in the Fall of 1980 that he wasn't seeking reelection to a third term as Governor, preferring to launch his campaign for the United States Senate instead. The California Democratic Party appears to have a front-runner for the nomination: three-term Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Bradley (D) who could potentially make history as the nation's first elected African American US State Governor if elected. However, the Republicans will have an exciting primary between California Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb (R) vs California State Attorney General George Deukmejian (R) who was endorsed by President Reagan and Vice President Bush last year.
COMING SOON IN THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: PART III OF THE 1982 MIDTERMS GUBERNATORIAL MATCHUPS IN THE US STATE/TERRITORY GOVERNORSHIPS.