1982 Georgia gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1982 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Joe Frank Harris was elected as the 78th Governor of Georgia.
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November 2, 1982
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 County results Harris: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Bell: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic nomination
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in runoff
- Bo Ginn, U.S. representative from Georgia's 1st congressional district (1973–1983)
Eliminated in primary
- Buck Melton, Mayor of Macon, Georgia (1975–1979)
- Billy Lovett, member of the Georgia Public Service Commission (1979–1990)
- Henry Jackson
- Jack Watson, White House Chief of Staff (1980–1981)
- Mildred Glover, state representative (1975–1983)
- Mac McNease
- Norman Underwood, Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals (1979)
- Thomas J. Irwin
Democratic primary election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bo Ginn | 316,019 | 35.11 | |
| Democratic | Joe Frank Harris | 233,545 | 24.84 | |
| Democratic | Norman Underwood | 147,535 | 16.39 | |
| Democratic | Jack Watson | 114,553 | 12.72 | |
| Democratic | Billy Lovett | 62,341 | 6.93 | |
| Democratic | Buck Melton | 20,052 | 2.23 | |
| Democratic | Mildred Glover | 8,958 | 1.00 | |
| Democratic | Henry Jackson | 2,706 | 0.30 | |
| Democratic | Mac McNease | 2,545 | 0.28 | |
| Democratic | Thomas J. Irwin | 1,855 | 0.21 | |
Democratic runoff results
Harris
- Harris—50–60%
- Harris—60–70%
- Harris—80–90%
- Harris—<90%
Ginn
- Ginn—50–60%
- Ginn—60–70%
- Ginn—70–80%
- Ginn—80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Frank Harris | 500,765 | 54.97 | |
| Democratic | Bo Ginn | 410,259 | 45.03 | |
Republican nomination
Robert H. Bell won the primary with 36,347 votes (59.19%) over Benjamin B. Blackburn and his 25,063 votes (40.81%).[3]
General election results
Though the Democrats once again won the election, Bell did win five counties (Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Fayette, Bulloch) and the GOP gained their most votes in an election since Howard Callaway in 1966. As of 2022, this is the last time that DeKalb County voted for the Republican candidate for governor.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Frank Harris | 734,090 | 62.79% | ||
| Republican | Robert H. Bell | 434,496 | 37.17% | ||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
