Nov. 3, 1963 - Governor George Wallace of Alabama said today he may enter Presidential primaries in at least five Southern states in an effort to throw the 1964 election into “confusion.” Wallace (pictured with Vermont Governor Philip Hoff) made the statement during a news conference shortly after he arrived in Boston for a series of speeches. The Governor predicted during the conference that President Kennedy would lose the entire Southern vote in the 1964 election. This means, Mr. Wallace asserted, that Mr. Kennedy will be defeated because the Southern vote supplied his margin of victory in 1960. Wallace said he would run on the ticket of the Independent Party, formed recently in the South to defeat President Kennedy. Wallace said party members sought to “gain the balance of power, thereby throwing the election into Congress to create confusion and have people pay attention to the South.” The Governor said that as a registered Democrat who actively supported Mr. Kennedy in 1960, under no circumstances would he back any Republican candidate. Asked specifically about Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), he admitted the possible GOP nominee had “much support in Alabama.” Extraordinary security measures were in effect for the visiting Governor. He was guarded by at least a dozen Boston policemen and three security men from Alabama. Wallace will remain in New England until Friday afternoon. During his visit, he will speak at Harvard University tomorrow night, Dartmouth College Tuesday, Smith College Wednesday, and Brown University Thursday.
Comments