1958 Arkansas gubernatorial election

← 1956

November 4, 1958

1960 →

Turnout

15.02%


Nominee	Orval Faubus	George W. Johnson
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	236,598	50,288
Percentage	82.47%	17.53%

Governor before election

Orval Faubus
Democratic

Elected Governor

Orval Faubus
Democratic

Federal government

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The 1958 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958.

Incumbent Democratic Governor Orval Faubus won election to a third term, defeating Republican nominee George W. Johnson with 82.47% of the vote. Faubus surged in popularity after denying the Little Rock Nine entrance to Central High School with the use of the Arkansas National Guard on September 4, 1957.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on July 29, 1958. By winning over 50% of the vote, Faubus and Johnson avoided run-offs which would have been held on August 12, 1958.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Orval Faubus, incumbent Governor
Chris Finkbeiner, businessman^[2]
Lee Ward, judge^[3]

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Orval Faubus (incumbent)	264,346	68.86
	Democratic	Chris Finkbeiner	60,173	15.67
	Democratic	Lee Ward	59,385	15.47
Total votes			383,904	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

George W. Johnson, attorney^[6]
Donald D. Layne, civil engineer^[6]

Results

Republican primary results^[7]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Johnson	3,147	71.20
	Republican	Donald D. Layne	1,273	28.80
Total votes			4,420	100.00

General election

Candidates

Orval Faubus, Democratic
George W. Johnson, Republican

George W. Johnson, an attorney in Greenwood, Sebastian County, deliberately abandoned the race in September 1958.^{[citation needed]} He traveled to his son's home in Isle, Minnesota. He told his family, "Mr. Faubus is a fine man and I support him whole-heartedly."^{[citation needed]} He genuinely and naively believed that blacks were intellectually deficient and needed their own schools.

Results

1958 Arkansas gubernatorial election^[8]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Orval Faubus (incumbent)	236,598	82.47%	+1.82%
	Republican	George W. Johnson	50,288	17.53%	-1.82%
Majority			186,310	64.94%
Turnout			286,886	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

Bibliography

Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.

v t e Elections in Arkansas
General	1844 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Governor	1836 1840 1844 1848 1849 S 1852 1856 1860 1862 1864 U 1868 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 S 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1833 1839–40 1848 S 1853 1859 1868 S 1870 1876 1883 1885 S 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 S 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1937 S 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1837 1843 1845 S 1849 1855 1861 1867 1873 1879 1881 S 1885 1891 1897 1903 1909 1914 1916 S 1920 1926 1932 S 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 2022
U.S. House	1837 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1851 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 (4th S) 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 (6th S) 1962 1964 1966 (4th S) 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
'S,' denotes special election; 'U,' denotes election under Federal (Union) military occupation See also: Political party strength in Arkansas

v t e (1957 ←) 1958 United States elections (→ 1959)
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