Georgia’s “three governors controversy” of 1946-47, which began with the death of governor-elect Eugene Talmadge, was one of the more bizarre political spectacles in the annals of American politics.
In the wake of Talmadge’s death, his supporters proposed a plan that allowed the Georgia legislature to elect a governor in January 1947. When the General Assembly elected Talmadge’s son Herman Talmadge as governor, the newly elected lieutenant governor, Melvin E. Thompson, claimed the office of governor, and the outgoing governor, Ellis Arnall, refused to leave office. Eventually, the Georgia Supreme Court settled the controversy.
Background
In the summer of 1946 Eugene Talmadge won the Democratic primary for governor for the fourth time. His election was assured because the Republican Party in Georgia was not viable and had no nominee. However, Talmadge was not healthy, and his close friends began to fear that he would not live until the November general election or would die before his inauguration in January 1947.
After a great deal of legal research, Talmadge’s followers found dubious constitutional and statutory precedence for the state legislature’s electing a governor if the governor-elect died before taking office. According to their findings, the General Assembly could choose between the second- and third-place vote-getters from the general election. Because no Republican candidate would be running, the Talmadge forces reasoned that a write-in candidate with enough votes statewide would be second or third behind Talmadge, and the General Assembly could choose that candidate if the situation warranted. The Talmadge stalwarts therefore chose to run Talmadge’s son, Herman, as a secret write-in candidate
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Explanation:
Georgia’s “three governors controversy” of 1946-47, which began with the death of governor-elect Eugene Talmadge, was one of the more bizarre political spectacles in the annals of American politics.
In the wake of Talmadge’s death, his supporters proposed a plan that allowed the Georgia legislature to elect a governor in January 1947. When the General Assembly elected Talmadge’s son Herman Talmadge as governor, the newly elected lieutenant governor, Melvin E. Thompson, claimed the office of governor, and the outgoing governor, Ellis Arnall, refused to leave office. Eventually, the Georgia Supreme Court settled the controversy.
Background
In the summer of 1946 Eugene Talmadge won the Democratic primary for governor for the fourth time. His election was assured because the Republican Party in Georgia was not viable and had no nominee. However, Talmadge was not healthy, and his close friends began to fear that he would not live until the November general election or would die before his inauguration in January 1947.
After a great deal of legal research, Talmadge’s followers found dubious constitutional and statutory precedence for the state legislature’s electing a governor if the governor-elect died before taking office. According to their findings, the General Assembly could choose between the second- and third-place vote-getters from the general election. Because no Republican candidate would be running, the Talmadge forces reasoned that a write-in candidate with enough votes statewide would be second or third behind Talmadge, and the General Assembly could choose that candidate if the situation warranted. The Talmadge stalwarts therefore chose to run Talmadge’s son, Herman, as a secret write-in candidate