July 31, 1968

Virginia Johnson—the first woman to run for Arkansas governor—came in second in the Democratic primary, defeating Ted Boswell of Bryant (Saline County) by only 409 votes. She faced Marion Crank in the Democratic run-off on August 13. In the weeks before the run-off, Johnson increased her claims that her opponent was tied to political bosses around the state and vowed that she remained untied to this political machine. She also called Governor Winthrop Rockefeller’s two years in office “futile follies” and “a comedy of errors.” She often criticized the governor for bringing “outsiders” to run many of the state’s offices. Johnson lost the Democratic nomination to Crank, who captured sixty-four percent of the vote, with light turnout. Johnson vowed to help Crank unseat the governor but later renounced her support. Rockefeller was reelected.