Democratic Party Overturns Runoff : Baxley Awarded Alabama Nomination for Governor

Alabama Democratic Party officials awarded the party’s gubernatorial nomination Friday to Lt. Gov. Bill Baxley, loser of a June runoff election, ruling that illegal Republican votes had robbed him of victory.

State Atty. Gen. Charles Graddick, a former Republican who received 8,756 more runoff votes than Baxley, angrily vowed to appeal the decision made by a specially appointed committee.

The five-member panel, he said, “has thrown freedom in the trash can so it can handpick a sore loser for its own selfish interests.”

Graddick: ‘I’m Mad’

“I want the million Alabama voters to know that I’m mad and I won’t let them down,” Graddick said. “Only in Russia does the party pick the candidate.”

The Democratic committee announced its decision in Birmingham after four days of hearings. State Democratic Chairman James Baker said the committee unanimously found that Baxley “received the majority of legally cast votes in the June 24 runoff.”

The decision came two weeks after a federal court overturned Graddick’s apparent victory and ordered the state party either to name Baxley its gubernatorial nominee or order another runoff.

The court ruled that Graddick had abused his office as attorney general and violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by encouraging Republicans to cross over and vote for him in the Democratic runoff.

Baxley Expresses Relief

Baxley said he was “thankful, relieved and happy. I feel justice was done.”

If the decision stands, Baxley, a colorful populist, will face Republican Guy Hunt in November in the contest to succeed Democratic Gov. George C. Wallace. Winning the Democratic nomination has been tantamount to election in Alabama, which has not had a Republican governor in 112 years.

The bitter nomination fight has thrown the Democratic Party into turmoil, angering many voters. A Birmingham NewsCapstone Poll published this week found that 70% of Alabama voters think the dispute should be decided by a new runoff, while 60% disapproved of the party’s handling of the affair.

Poll Finds Republican Strength

The poll found that voters favored Hunt, a farmer and businessman given little chance of winning three months ago, over Baxley, 44% to 42%. It also found that Sen. Jeremiah Denton (R-Ala.) had expanded his lead over Rep. Richard C. Shelby, the Democratic Senate nominee, to 12 percentage points.

“It’s wonderful for us,” Republican national committeewoman Jean Sullivan said. “The Democrats have done more to build the Republican Party in Alabama in three months than I’ve been able to do in 24 years.”