H. Guy Hunt
Encyclopedia
Harold Guy Hunt was an American politician who served as the 49th Governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican
to serve as governor of the state since Reconstruction.
. He was the salutatorian
of his high school class, but he turned down a college education. Instead, he enlisted in the United States Army
and served in the Korean War
. He returned to Alabama upon his discharge in 1956, where he operated an egg farm. He has been an ordained Primitive Baptist
minister since 1958, and also worked as a salesman for Amway
. He married the former Helen Chambers in 1951 (deceased November 22, 2004); they had four children.
Hunt was active in the Republican Party from the days when the Democrats
held near-total control of the state. He first ran for office in 1962, an unsuccessful run for the Alabama Senate
. In 1964, he was elected probate judge of Cullman County
. Lyndon Johnson's strong support for civil rights caused many Democrats to vote for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater
that year, and Hunt was one of several Republicans swept into office on Goldwater's coattails. He was the youngest probate judge in Alabama. He was reelected in 1970, stepping down in 1976 to honor a promise to serve only two terms. He was state chairman of Ronald Reagan
's presidential campaigns in 1976 and 1980 and chaired the state's Republican delegation at the 1976
and 1980 Republican National Convention
s. He ran for governor in 1978, losing in a massive landslide to Democrat Fob James
.
Jeremiah Denton
win reelection. The press paid little attention to the Republican gubernatorial primaries, fully expecting that the nominee would be the next loser in the general election.
However, a fracas in the Democratic primary changed the picture. That race saw then Alabama Attorney General
Charles Graddick
in a runoff with Lieutenant Governor Bill Baxley
. Graddick, the more conservative candidate, won by a few thousand votes. However, Baxley sued, claiming that Graddick violated primary regulations by encouraging Republicans to "cross over" and vote as Democrats. Graddick, for his part, maintained that this was legal because Alabama was an open primary state. The dispute made it all the way to the state Supreme Court, who told the Democrats to either declare Baxley the winner by default or hold another primary. The party picked Baxley. Alabamians, accustomed to a one-party state where anybody and everybody could vote in a primary, were outraged and took out their frustrations by voting for Hunt. In November, Hunt won the election by 13 points and 56 percent of the vote, receiving the most votes ever for a gubernatorial candidate at that time. Hunt's election surprised many Alabamians since the last Republican governor had left office 113 years earlier, at the end of Reconstruction. He narrowly won reelection in 1990 after trailing most of the way. Hunt's election is widely credited for turning Alabama into a two-party state as there have only been two Democrat governors in Alabama since he was elected.
Hunt pushed through major tort reform
and tried to bring more industry and tourism to the state, but had to wrangle through massive opposition in the state legislature.
In 1992, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that taxpayers may sue Hunt for flying on state-owned aircraft to preaching engagements, where Hunt received monetary offerings.
As Governor, Hunt presided over eight executions in Alabama, all by electric chair
.
does not allow convicted felons to hold office, Hunt was forced to resign on April 22, 1993. After being ordered to pay $12,000, Hunt began a five year probation
term in 1994. In February 1998 he asked the parole board to reduce his probation by four months; the judge instead increased the probation by five years. In April 1998 the parole board granted Hunt a pardon based on innocence.
Hunt died on January 30, 2009, after a long battle with lung cancer.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to serve as governor of the state since Reconstruction.
Early life
Hunt was born in Holly Pond, AlabamaHolly Pond, Alabama
Holly Pond is a town in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. As of 2000 the town's population was 645.-People from Holly Pond, Alabama:*Guy Hunt, former Governor of Alabama and Primitive Baptist pastor...
. He was the salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...
of his high school class, but he turned down a college education. Instead, he enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and served in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He returned to Alabama upon his discharge in 1956, where he operated an egg farm. He has been an ordained Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists, also known as Hard Shell Baptists or Anti-Mission Baptists, are conservative, Calvinist Baptists adhering to beliefs that formed out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 1800’s over the appropriateness of mission boards, bible tract societies, and temperance...
minister since 1958, and also worked as a salesman for Amway
Amway
Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...
. He married the former Helen Chambers in 1951 (deceased November 22, 2004); they had four children.
Hunt was active in the Republican Party from the days when the Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
held near-total control of the state. He first ran for office in 1962, an unsuccessful run for the Alabama Senate
Alabama Senate
The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens...
. In 1964, he was elected probate judge of Cullman County
Cullman County, Alabama
Cullman County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Colonel John G. Cullmann. As of 2010, the population was 80,406. Its county seat is the town of the same name, Cullman, Alabama. It is a "moist" county in terms of availablity of alcoholic beverages, which means...
. Lyndon Johnson's strong support for civil rights caused many Democrats to vote for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
that year, and Hunt was one of several Republicans swept into office on Goldwater's coattails. He was the youngest probate judge in Alabama. He was reelected in 1970, stepping down in 1976 to honor a promise to serve only two terms. He was state chairman of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's presidential campaigns in 1976 and 1980 and chaired the state's Republican delegation at the 1976
1976 Republican National Convention
The 1976 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States met at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, from August 16 to August 19, 1976. The convention nominated incumbent Gerald Ford for President, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California...
and 1980 Republican National Convention
1980 Republican National Convention
The 1980 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980. The 32nd Republican National Convention nominated former Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California for President of the United States and former...
s. He ran for governor in 1978, losing in a massive landslide to Democrat Fob James
Fob James
Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...
.
Election as governor
After Reagan won election in 1980, he appointed Hunt as State Director of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee. He resigned in 1985 to run for governor. His campaign was not taken seriously at first even among Republicans, who were more concerned about helping SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Jeremiah Denton
Jeremiah Denton
Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. is a retired United States Navy rear admiral, naval aviator and a former Republican U.S. senator, for the state of Alabama...
win reelection. The press paid little attention to the Republican gubernatorial primaries, fully expecting that the nominee would be the next loser in the general election.
Attorney General of Alabama
The Attorney General of Alabama is an elected, constitutional officer of the State of Alabama. The office of the Attorney General is located at the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Henry Hitchcock was elected Alabama's first attorney general in 1819....
Charles Graddick
Charles Graddick
Charles Allen Graddick is Circuit Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit of Alabama, United States.Graddick attended the all-male University Military School, the forerunner of UMS-Wright Preparatory School, graduating in 1963...
in a runoff with Lieutenant Governor Bill Baxley
Bill Baxley
William Joseph Baxley II is an American Democratic politician and attorney.He was born in Dothan, Alabama and attended law school at the University of Alabama, graduating in 1964. He served two terms as Attorney General of Alabama, from 1971–1979; at the age of 27, he was the youngest to hold that...
. Graddick, the more conservative candidate, won by a few thousand votes. However, Baxley sued, claiming that Graddick violated primary regulations by encouraging Republicans to "cross over" and vote as Democrats. Graddick, for his part, maintained that this was legal because Alabama was an open primary state. The dispute made it all the way to the state Supreme Court, who told the Democrats to either declare Baxley the winner by default or hold another primary. The party picked Baxley. Alabamians, accustomed to a one-party state where anybody and everybody could vote in a primary, were outraged and took out their frustrations by voting for Hunt. In November, Hunt won the election by 13 points and 56 percent of the vote, receiving the most votes ever for a gubernatorial candidate at that time. Hunt's election surprised many Alabamians since the last Republican governor had left office 113 years earlier, at the end of Reconstruction. He narrowly won reelection in 1990 after trailing most of the way. Hunt's election is widely credited for turning Alabama into a two-party state as there have only been two Democrat governors in Alabama since he was elected.
Hunt pushed through major tort reform
Tort reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
and tried to bring more industry and tourism to the state, but had to wrangle through massive opposition in the state legislature.
In 1992, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that taxpayers may sue Hunt for flying on state-owned aircraft to preaching engagements, where Hunt received monetary offerings.
As Governor, Hunt presided over eight executions in Alabama, all by electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
.
Criminal indictment, conviction and pardon
In 1992 a grand jury indicted Hunt for theft, conspiracy, and ethics violations. Prosecutors said that he took $200,000 from a 1987 inaugural account and used it to buy marble showers and lawnmowers. Hunt was ultimately found guilty. As the state constitutionAlabama Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 1901 and is the sixth constitution that the state has had....
does not allow convicted felons to hold office, Hunt was forced to resign on April 22, 1993. After being ordered to pay $12,000, Hunt began a five year probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
term in 1994. In February 1998 he asked the parole board to reduce his probation by four months; the judge instead increased the probation by five years. In April 1998 the parole board granted Hunt a pardon based on innocence.
Hunt died on January 30, 2009, after a long battle with lung cancer.