The 1994 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on 8 November 1994 to select the governor of the state of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. The election saw Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Fob James

Fob James

Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...

 defeat Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

 Governor Jim Folsom, Jr.

Jim Folsom, Jr.

James Elisha Folsom, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who was the 50th Governor of Alabama from April 22, 1993 to January 16, 1995.-Early life and career:...

 in an upset.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

 saw Jim Folsom defeat Paul Hubbert for the Democratic nomination. Lieutenant Governor Folsom had become Governor on 22 April 1993 after Republican Governor H. Guy Hunt

H. Guy Hunt

Harold Guy Hunt was an American politician who served as the 49th Governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Reconstruction.- Early life :...

 was removed from office.

Candidate	# of votes	% of votes
Jim Folsom, Jr. Jim Folsom, Jr. James Elisha Folsom, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who was the 50th Governor of Alabama from April 22, 1993 to January 16, 1995.-Early life and career:...	380,227	54.0
Paul Hubbert Paul Hubbert Dr. Paul R. Hubbert is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Alabama. Since 1969, he has served as executive secretary-treasurer of the Alabama Education Association, a professional association for teachers...	285,554	40.6
F. Ross Stewart	24,354	3.5
Tom Hayden	13,532	1.9

Source: 1994 Gubernatorial Democratic Primary Election Results - Alabama

Republican primary

Fob James defeated five other candidates for the Republican nomination.

Candidate	# of votes	% of votes
Fob James Fob James Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...	84,021	39.5
Ann Bedsole	54,450	25.6
Winton Blount	51,795	24.4
Mickey Kirkland	18,538	8.7
Robin Swift	3,138	1.5
Jack Pollard	543	0.3

Source: 1994 Gubernatorial Republican Primary Election Results - Alabama

Polling

Source	Date	James (R)	Folsom (D)
WFSA-TV	Nov. 6, 1994	40%	47%
WALA-TV WALA-TV WALA-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southern Alabama, Southeastern Mississippi, and the Western Florida Panhandle that is licensed to Mobile. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Spanish Fort, Alabama...	Oct. 23, 1994	38%	49%

Results

Folsom led in the polls during the campaign which showed him 10 to 12 percent ahead of James on the last weekend before the election. However James pulled off a narrow upset victory in the election.