Prior to his 1966 bid for the governor's office, Maddox had never been elected to anything, though he had twice lost elections for mayor of Atlanta. In 1957, he lost to William B. Hartsfield, the original namesake of Atlanta's airport*, and in 1961 he was defeated by Ivan Allen Jr.
Despite never having won election to any office, Maddox's political views were well known. During his court battle to prevent the forced desegregation of the Pickrick Restaurant, his views were frequently the subject of local and national news stories. In addition, he frequently included biting political commentary in the ads for the Pickrick that ran in Atlanta's newspapers, as seen on the right..
* In 2003 Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport was renamed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to honor former mayor Maynard Jackson, who died earlier that year.
PHOTO: One of Lester Maddox's "Pickrick" advertisements from a Feb. 13, 1965 edition of The Atlanta Constitution. Maddox adopted and used the name Pickrick to refer to himself in his outrageously opinionated newspaper ads. In addition to strident political commentary, Maddox used the ads to sell LP records, Confederate auto tags, and axe handles, which he referred to as Pickrick drumsticks. Also of note is the text at the bottom of the ad, in which he explains the origins of the name Pickrick.
Photo source: Atlanta Constitution, 2/13/65