The 1958 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958.
Incumbent
DemocraticGovernorOrval Faubus won election to a third term, defeating
Republican nominee George W. Johnson with 82.47% of the vote. Faubus surged in popularity after denying the
Little Rock Nine entrance to
Central High School with the use of the Arkansas National Guard on September 4, 1957.
Primary elections
Primary elections were held on July 29, 1958. By winning over 50% of the vote, Faubus and Johnson avoided run-offs which would have been held on August 12, 1958.[1]
George W. Johnson, an attorney in Greenwood, Sebastian County, deliberately abandoned the race in September 1958.[citation needed] He traveled to his son's home in Isle, Minnesota. He told his family, "Mr. Faubus is a fine man and I support him whole-heartedly."[citation needed] He genuinely and naively believed that blacks were intellectually deficient and needed their own schools.
^"1958 Elections". Voting Information. Washington, D.C.: Prepared by Office of Armed Forces Information & Education, Department of Defense. March 1958. p. 109. Retrieved June 4, 2020.