Talmadge

From dKosopedia

Category: Political families

Talmadge is the name of a prominent Georgia political family.

Eugene Talmadge

Eugene Talmadge was elected Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia in 1926 and served three terms before being elected Governor of Georgia in 1932 and re-elected in 1934. Opposed to President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal", Talmadge ran twice for the United States Senate, losing to Richard Russell in 1936 and Walter George in 1938. Talmadge returned as Governor in 1940, but was defeated by Ellis Arnall in the 1942 Democratic primary. Arnall was term-limited in 1946, so Talmadge ran to replace him. He won the election, but died before he was inaugurated, sparking the so-called "Three Governor's Controversy" in which Arnall, Lieutenant Governor Melvin Thompson, and Eugene's son Herman Talmadge (who had been elected by the General Assembly) all asserted claims to be Governor. Finally, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in favor of Thompson and scheduled a special election in 1948.

Herman Talmadge

Herman Talmadge was the son of Eugene Talmadge and the manager of his father's 1946 campaign for Governor. His father won the election but died before being inaugurated. The General Assembly elected Herman Talmadge in his father's place, but the Supreme Court ruled that Lieutenant Governor Melvin Thompson should become Governor until a special election could be held in 1948.

Talmadge ran against, and defeated, Thompson in 1948. He then won a full term in 1950. He ran for the Senate in 1956, won, and was re-elected in 1962, 1968 and 1974. Talmadge served on the Senate Watergate Committee. In 1980, he successfully staved off a challenge in the Democratic primary by Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller, but in the general election was defeated by Republican businessman Mack Mattingly. Talmadge retired after his defeat, and died in 2002.