since Reconstruction. No other Republicans sought down-ballot constitutional offices. State Senator Holden Eugene "Gene" Sanders of DeKalb County, a moderate Republican, sought to run for lieutenant governor, but Callaway said that Sanders did not follow the proper procedures. The Republican strategy was to shun all other statewide races for fear that a full ticket would unify the Democrats. The Atlanta Journal, which ultimately endorsed Callaway, claimed that key Republicans were a clique who hoped to build the party from the governor's office. The Athens Daily News depicted traditional Georgia Republican leaders as "would-be politicians [who viewed the party as] personal property and who made no real effort to expand into a broad-based and effective political organization." General election results Some people were unhappy with both major nominees and took the "Go Bo" of Callaway's campaign, expanding it to "Go Bo, and take Lester with you". Under Georgia law at the time, the Georgia General Assembly would be required to hold a contingent election if no candidate received a majority of the popular vote. Persons opposed to the contingent election procedure filed an action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, contending that a contingent election would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The three-judge federal district court declared the Georgia contingent procedure unconstitutional and void on November 17, 1966, but less than a month later, on December 12, 1966, the United States Supreme Court reversed, and the contingent election went forward. Maddox was elected on the first ballot despite losing the popular vote by 0.31%. References 1966 Gubernatorial Georgia November 1966 events in the United States Jimmy Carter