Ronnie Thompson (Georgia Politician) - Reelection in 1971

Reelection in 1971

In 1971, Thompson faced a Democratic opponent who was expected to give him a tough race: Bibb County Commissioner F. Emory Greene, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In the primary, Greene defeated Bill Laite, who then sat out the general election campaign. Greene questioned Thompson's militant use of the police, the "shoot-to-kill" order during the 1970 racial unrest, and the nerve-gas matter. He also claimed that Thompson's campaign organization compensated Laithe for the remainder of his debts in return for neutrality in the general election campaigns. Greene said that Thompson must be defeated to avoid four more years of "radicalism, noise, confusion, and publicity-seeking maneuvers which leave the city standing still."

Thompson defeated Greene 19,329 (58.2 percent) to 13,881 (41.8 percent), having received strong support once again from blue collar white voters. Thompson polled a bare majority of affluent whites. Virtually all of the black voters sided with Greene despite what Thompson saw as his considerable assistance to the minority community.