The 1968 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 5, when incumbent Republican Winthrop Rockefeller defeated former speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives Marion Crank by a small margin. Rockefeller was first elected in 1966, and was the first Republican to hold the office since Reconstruction. This was the first time a Republican was re-elected as governor of Arkansas.
As of 2022[ [update]], this is the last time that Chicot County and St. Francis County voted for the Republican candidate.
Background.
Probably due to the crowded Democratic primary and allegations of nepotism cast upon Crank, aided by the recent full enfranchisement of African Americans who supported Rockefeller and his liberal reforms Rockefeller prevailed with a clear majority, though a reduced one, compared to his 1966 margin.
Virginia Johnson was the wife of former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice James D. Johnson who, concurrently with her candidacy, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination against J. William Fulbright in the Senate election.
Democratic primary.
Candidates:
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 15em" |Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em" |Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em" |Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em" |%
Runoff.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 15em" |Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em" |Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em" |Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em" |%
Election results.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"| ;templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" / ;±%
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" | Total votes
References.
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