| − | In 1968, Bennett sought a comeback in the Democratic gubernatorial primary on the theme that Winthrop Rockefeller had become "an expensive luxury which the state of Arkansas can no longer afford," a reference to state financial shortfalls.<ref>''Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report,'' July 19, 1968, p. 1826.</ref> Bennett finished a weak fourth in the primary, with 65,905 votes (15.7 percent).<ref>Arkansas Secretary of State, Primary Election Returns, 1968.</ref> The winner of the gubernatorial nomination, State Representative Marion H. Crank of Foreman in Little River County, defeated in a heated runoff contest Virginia Morris Johnson, Jim Johnson's wife and the first woman ever to seek the Arkansas governorship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1167|title=Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson (1928–2007)|publisher=encyclopediaofarkansas.net|accessdate=October 22, 2019}}</ref> Crank went on to lose narrowly to Rockefeller in November general election; then Rockefeller was defeated for a third term in 1970 by [[Dale Bumpers]]. | + | In 1968, Bennett sought a comeback in the Democratic gubernatorial primary on the theme that Winthrop Rockefeller had become "an expensive luxury which the state of Arkansas can no longer afford," a reference to state financial shortfalls.<ref>''Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report,'' July 19, 1968, p. 1826.</ref> |
| | + | Bennett finished a weak fourth in the primary, with 65,905 votes (15.7 percent).<ref>Arkansas Secretary of State, Primary Election Returns, 1968.</ref> The winner of the gubernatorial nomination, State Representative Marion H. Crank of Foreman in Little River County, defeated in a heated runoff contest Virginia Morris Johnson, Jim Johnson's wife and the first woman ever to seek the Arkansas governorship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1167|title=Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson (1928–2007)|publisher=encyclopediaofarkansas.net|accessdate=October 22, 2019}}</ref> Crank went on to lose narrowly to Rockefeller in November general election; then Rockefeller was defeated for a third term in 1970 by [[Dale Bumpers]]. |