Upon Lurleen Wallace’s death in May of 1968, Lt. Gov. Albert Brewer moved up to governor. Brewer was no novice to state government.

He came to the legislature from Morgan County at a very early age and rose quickly to become speaker of the house during his second term. He won the 1966 lieutenant governor’s race against two state senators, Neil Metcalf and John Tyson, without a runoff. Brewer was smart and articulate with a charming smile and winning personality. He had lots of friends in the legislature and seemed to have very few enemies. Brewer also had a good grasp of state government. He smoothly took the reigns of state government and began to make improvements. His popularity and relationships with his fellow legislators gave his programs easy sailing. Brewer became a working governor.