1946 Alabama House of Representatives election

1946 Alabama House of Representatives election

November 5, 1946

All 106 seats in the Alabama House of Representatives
54 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Charles D. Norman
(not re-elected speaker)
John B. Weaver
(de facto)
Party Democratic Republican
Leader since May 1, 1945 November 7, 1944
Leader's seat Bullock Co. p. 1 Winston Co.
Last election 105 seats, 97.50% 1 seat, 2.50%
Seats won 105 1
Popular vote 422,807 29,519
Percentage 93.32% 6.52%

     Democratic hold      Republican hold
Democratic:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100%      Unopposed
Republican:      40–50%

Speaker before election

Charles D. Norman
Democratic

Elected Speaker

William M. Beck
Democratic

The 1946 Alabama House of Representatives election took place on Tuesday, November 5, 1946, to elect 106 representatives to serve four-year terms in the Alabama House of Representatives. Nearly every single representative elected was a member of the Democratic Party, with one Republican, John B. Weaver, being re-elected from Winston County.

89 of the 106 Democratic nominees did not face any opposition in the general election. As the Democratic Party was dominant in the state, state legislative seats were generally decided at the Democratic primary election. The first round of the Democratic primary was held on May 7 with runoff elections taking place on June 4.

Representative William M. Beck of DeKalb County was elected Speaker of the House on January 14, 1947, receiving 58 votes, a majority on the first ballot. Doc Martin of Greene County won 27 votes, and incumbent Speaker Charlie Norman won 17. Beck had the backing of incoming Governor Jim Folsom. 102 of the 106 House representatives voted in the speakership contest, with two being absent, Norman not voting, and the sole Republican not being entitled to a vote. Future governor George Wallace also sought the post, but withdrew his name from contention and supported Beck.

The election took place concurrently with elections for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, state senate, and numerous other state and local offices.