1986 Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election

1986 Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election

November 4, 1986

Nominee Jim Folsom Jr. Don McGriff Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 726,111 447,978 Percentage 61.84% 38.16%

County results Folsom:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100% McGriff:      50–60%

Lieutenant Governor before election Bill Baxley Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Jim Folsom Jr. Democratic

The 1986 Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986, in order to elect the lieutenant governor of Alabama. Democratic nominee Jim Folsom Jr. defeated Republican nominee Don McGriff.

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary election, candidate Jim Folsom Jr. received a plurality of the votes (37.72%), thus advancing to a runoff against runner-up John Teague. Folsom won the runoff with 57.49% and thus became the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

First Round

1986 Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Folsom Jr.	331,527	37.72%
	Democratic	John Teague	277,899	31.62%
	Democratic	Hinton Mitchem	203,112	23.11%
	Democratic	Melba Till Allen	66,439	7.56%
Total votes			878,977	100.00%

Runoff

1986 Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Folsom Jr.	517,724	57.49%
	Democratic	John Teague	382,836	42.51%
Total votes			900,560	100.00%

General election

On election day, November 4, 1986, Democratic nominee Jim Folsom Jr. won the election by a margin of 278,133 votes against his opponent Republican nominee Don McGriff, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of lieutenant governor. Folsom was sworn in as the 25th lieutenant governor of Alabama on January 19, 1987.

Results

Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election, 1986

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Folsom Jr.	726,111	61.84
	Republican	Don McGriff	447,978	38.16
Total votes			1,174,089	100.00
	Democratic hold