 At the expiration of his term as lieutenant governor , Ford was one of eight candidates to enter the 1971 Democratic gubernatorial primary . The favorite of the field was Ford 's mentor , Combs . During the campaign , Ford attacked Combs ' age and the sales tax enacted during Combs ' administration . He also questioned why Combs would leave his better @-@ paying federal judgeship to run for a second term as governor . Ford garnered more votes than Combs and the other six candidates combined , and attributed his unlikely win over Combs in the primary to superior strategy and Combs ' underestimation of his candidacy . Following the election , Combs correctly predicted " This is the end of the road for me politically . " 
