A Fifth for Faubus

For the first time since he became Governor in 1955, Arkansas' Orval Faubus went sleepless on election night. Seeking a fifth two-year term, Faubus faced five opponents in the Democratic primary. Observers thought the vote would be tight, and many had visions of a runoff election against Segregationist Congressman Dale Alford or moderate ex-Governor Sid McMath. As it turned out, Faubus could have stood in bed: he pulled in about 52% of the votes, more than the combined total won by Alford, McMath and three other also-rans. The one place where his opposition beat him was Pulaski County, home of Little Rock (where 42 Negro students went peaceably to integrated schools last term, five years after all the fuss Faubus made). In Little Rock, Faubus got only 40% of the vote.

During the campaign, Faubus, for the most part, avoided talking on segregation, astutely carved out for himself the image of a moderate. The results, he said, proved "that the people do not wish to wander in the thickets of extremism to either the right or the left."

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