With three claimants, which one ought to maintain the governor's seat? Lisa-Blue through Getty Pictures

As election outcomes proceed to come back in across the nation, it’s price recalling that after, the state of Georgia discovered itself with a lifeless governor-elect – and three politicians who every insisted he was the true governor.

It’s a narrative I had heard about after I moved to Georgia 20 years in the past, and acquired all the main points from Tracy Lightcap, now a professor emeritus of political science at LaGrange Faculty, the place I train. And once you hear concerning the wild occasions, you’ll know why I wanted an skilled to decipher simply what went down in Georgia late in 1946 and early 1947.

A disastrous election conclusion

Eugene Talmadge served as Georgia’s governor for 3 phrases, and sought a fourth in 1946.

AP Photograph

In 1946, Eugene Talmadge – who had been the state’s governor twice earlier than, from 1933 to 1937 and from 1941 to 1943 – made one other bid to steer the state.

The first race was between two various kinds of Democrats, the extra conservative Talmadge and the extra progressive James Carmichael. Talmadge acquired 43% of the favored vote, and Carmichael acquired 45%. The remaining 12% of the votes have been write-ins.

However the in style vote didn’t decide who the winner was.

Georgia’s system at the moment for selecting a governor relied on what was known as the “County Unit System,” breaking the state down right into a sequence of districts, just like the nationwide Electoral Faculty. That system tended to favor populists from rural counties, like Talmadge, over pro-business moderates like Carmichael. Practically twenty years later, the U.S. Supreme Court docket declared that system unconstitutional.

However in 1946, the County Unit System gave the victory to Talmadge, 59% to 36%. He went on to breeze by the overall election towards tiny write-in opposition.

Sadly, Talmadge died on Dec. 21, 1946, simply earlier than being inaugurated. This triggered a political disaster that bedeviled Georgia for practically three months till the difficulty was lastly resolved in March.

The Georgia Structure of 1945 had created a lieutenant governor’s workplace and specified that particular person would substitute the governor in case of the chief government’s demise. It didn’t specify what would occur if the governor-elect died earlier than being inaugurated, which might have taken place on Jan. 14, 1947.

The brand new state Structure did say that it was as much as the Georgia Basic Meeting, the legislature, to certify the winner.

Hedging their bets

Georgia’s legislators, who overwhelmingly supported Eugene Talmadge, knew these obscure procedural information. In addition they knew Talmadge’s well being was failing. In order that they deliberate to attend till simply earlier than the inauguration to certify the election outcomes. If Talmadge died earlier than then – as he did – based on the foundations, they might nonetheless be in command of choosing his successor.

When Talmadge died 24 days earlier than his inauguration, legislators determined to carry a state home runoff between the second- and third-place finishers within the fall election. A kind of folks was Carmichael, who acquired some write-in votes – however now lawmakers had to determine who the opposite main write-in candidate was, as a result of that particular person had are available in third and was now again within the operating.

The legislative session stretched into the night time, and partisans on each side engaged in all method of soiled methods to achieve the higher hand – together with attempting to get fellow lawmakers drunk, or allegedly drugging them.

Herman Talmadge had helped run his father’s marketing campaign in 1946, however had additionally requested some pals to put in writing him in, as a safeguard in case Eugene died. A late-night determination by a legislative committee declared that Herman had gotten sufficient write-in votes to beat the opposite write-ins. It was later revealed that a few of these write-in votes have been forged by lifeless folks.

However, within the legislative runoff, Carmichael was pitted towards Herman Talmadge. At 2 a.m. on January 15, 1947, lawmakers declared Herman Talmadge the subsequent governor.

Then issues began to get actually unusual.

A second declare to the governorship

Georgia Gov. Ellis Arnall vowed to remain in workplace.

Anthony Calvacca/New York Put up Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. through Getty Pictures

Ellis Arnall, the sitting governor, was a progressive like Carmichael, and an enemy of Eugene Talmadge. As Herman Talmadge was being sworn in, Arnall introduced he would stay in his publish as governor till the mess was sorted out.

After which it acquired thrilling.

Practically 50 years after the dispute, reporter Gary Pomerantz from the Atlanta Journal Structure newspaper described what occurred subsequent within the wee hours of the morning of Jan. 15, 1947, based mostly on the unique Atlanta Journal reporting by George Goodwin:

“Herman Talmadge and his entourage marched to the second ground of the Capitol to take over the governor’s workplace. … Talmadge supporters both broke by the locked doorways or discovered a spare key.

“Within the doorway, Gov. Arnall, refusing to acknowledge the legislative vote simply carried out, met Gov. Talmadge. Arnall known as him ‘a pretender.’ Arnall refused to give up his workplace. ‘Inform ’em Herman!’ got here the hallway whoops.

“A fistfight broke out between members of the Arnall and Talmadge factions. Furnishings was smashed and two of Arnall’s aides ‘have been roughed up by a mob’ …

“Talmadge recalled, ‘We had 8,000 to 10,000 those that have been pals of ours, all on the Capitol. A few of them have been mad because the satan and a few of them had been imbibing’ …

”[Talmadge] then requested his just-appointed adjutant common, future governor Marvin Griffin, to collect up Arnall.“

Whereas Talmadge modified the locks on the governor’s workplace, Griffin and members of the state militia escorted Arnall to his dwelling about 40 miles away.

However the subsequent day, Arnall got here again and arrange a desk within the Capitol rotunda. Maybe fearing battle, Talmadge reportedly introduced a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver with him to work that day.

In a 1948 particular election, Herman Talmadge received the governorship of Georgia.

AP Photograph

A 3rd claimant

Melvin Thompson, the lieutenant governor-elect, was a progressive reformer against Eugene Talmadge’s populism. He hadn’t run on the identical ticket as Talmadge – a observe nonetheless noticed by lieutenant governor candidates as we speak.

After Thompson was sworn in on Jan. 18, Arnall resigned. Thompson promptly declared himself the rightful governor, because the lieutenant governor in a state of affairs with the governorship vacant.

From his desk within the rotunda, Arnall introduced he would again Thompson’s declare towards Herman Talmadge.

The state supreme court docket agreed – however not till March 19, 1947, 64 days after Inauguration Day. The court docket dominated that Thompson was the brand new governor – for now. It known as for a brand new election to be held in 1948 to fill the rest of the time period.

Herman Talmadge responded to his authorized defeat by beginning to marketing campaign for the job. In 1948 he defeated Thompson 51% to 45% within the Democratic main and received the autumn contest with greater than 97% of the vote.

It took time, and a few quantity of chaos and uncertainty – and loads of dispute amongst coequal branches of presidency – however in the end the dispute discovered its solution to a peaceable decision.

This specific controversy could have ultimately been settled, however the rise of Herman Talmadge started, launching a string of race-based controversies. Carrying on the household custom, the youthful Talmadge opted to shut faculties moderately than combine them. He received a seat within the U.S. Senate, the place he joined the combat towards proposed civil rights legal guidelines.

Students have discovered that his legacy nonetheless hampers the state’s schooling system – which demonstrates how populists can manipulate constitutional crises to withstand social reform, together with by claiming that opponents have been trying to usurp the system.

John A. Tures doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that may profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.