In 1966 Maddox ran for Governor and won the democratic nomination over Ellis Arnall, Jimmy Carter, Garland T. Byrd, James Gray, and Hoke OKelley. Maddox defeated an overconfident Arnall in a runoff two weeks later. He then ran against Howard "Bo" Callaway, the republican candidate, for the top executive office in the state. While Callaway had more popular votes, a third candidateEllis Arnall, a write-in candidategathered enough votes to keep either Maddox or Callaway from getting a majority, sending the final vote to the General Assembly, where Maddox was elected governor.
Many expected the Maddox administration to be a complete catastrophe. But in Bob Shorts revealing biography, it is shown howcontrary to expectationin the words of Bill Shipp, "he made excellent judicial appointments, instituted the most far-reaching prison reforms ever tried in Georgia, brought black officials into the government for the first time and generally showed himself to be a compassionate governor with a certain amount of wisdom concealed below that zany veneer."
