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Ronnie Thompson (view source)

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==Gubernatorial primary, 1974==

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In 1974, Thompson cross-filed in both the Republican and Democratic parties for governor, a practice then allowed in Georgia but not used by previous candidates during the state's long period of Democratic hegemony. Thompson said that his cross-filing was intended to increase his name identification and propel him to the leading position among four Republican primary candidates. <ref>Buddy Moore, Thesis, p. 116</ref>After the election, the state law permitting cross-filing was repealed in the Busbee administration. California similarly had a cross-filing law in the [[1950s]], used by then Governor [[Earl Warren]]. Thompson had considered running once again for U.S. representative or for [[lieutenant governor]] but instead filed for governor. He expected to face then Lieutenant Governor Lester Maddox of the Atlanta metro area, a former governor known nationally for his past appeals to segregation. Thompson called Maddox "a counterfeit conservative" and challenged the former governor to a head-to-head debate, which Maddox promptly rejected.<ref>Selby McCash and Randall Savage, "'Bring on Maddox,' Mayor Says," ''Macon Telegraph'', August 14, 1974, p. A1</ref>

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In 1974, Thompson cross-filed in both the Republican and Democratic parties for governor, a practice then allowed in Georgia but not used by previous candidates during the state's long period of Democratic hegemony. Thompson said that his cross-filing was intended to increase his name identification and propel him to the leading position among four Republican primary candidates. <ref>Buddy Moore, Thesis, p. 116</ref>After the election, the state law permitting cross-filing was repealed in the Busbee administration. California similarly had a cross-filing law in the [[1950s]], used by then Governor [[Earl Warren]]. Thompson had considered running once again for U.S. representative or for [[Lieutenant Governor|lieutenant governor]] but instead filed for governor. He expected to face then Lieutenant Governor Lester Maddox of the Atlanta metro area, a former governor known nationally for his past appeals to segregation. Thompson called Maddox "a counterfeit conservative" and challenged the former governor to a head-to-head debate, which Maddox promptly rejected.<ref>Selby McCash and Randall Savage, "'Bring on Maddox,' Mayor Says," ''Macon Telegraph'', August 14, 1974, p. A1</ref>

Thompson also clashed with [[J.B. Stoner]], a self-avowed [[white supremacy|white supremacist]], who ran as a Democrat for lieutenant governor to succeed Maddox. Stoner, the former attorney for [[James Earl Ray]], the convicted [[assassin]] of [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], placed a controversial advertisement on the side of a bus of the Macon Transit Company. Thompson had the sign removed, and Stoner sued successfully in federal court to have the sign returned though it was seen as hostile to blacks. Stoner even urged blacks to support Thompson for governor, a recommendation he made tongue-in-cheek.<ref>Randall Savage, "Stoner's Signs Removed from Buses," ''Macon Telegraph'', May 23, 1974, p. A3; Richard Harris, "Council Bans Political Ads from Buses," ''Macon Telegraph'', July 18, 1974, p. A3; ''Macon Telegraph'', June 28, 1974, p. A3</ref>Stoner received more votes in his race for lieutenant governor -- 73,449 or 9 percent of the total -- than were cast for all candidates in the Republican gubernatorial primary.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=FiRbQYoZtv0C&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=Ronnie+Thompson+(Macon,+Georgia)+&source=web&ots=4hgVyttuXS&sig=9s_rGFItLI_uxkmWIFy6z-uuuQA&hl=en</ref>

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