In 1979, Bramlett, a former Democrat, sought the Republican nomination for governor but lost in the primary election to Gil Carmichael, who had beed the 1975 nominee against Cliff Finch and had also carried the GOP banner against U.S. Senator James Eastland in 1972.
In 1979, Bramlett, a former Democrat, sought the Republican nomination for governor but lost in the primary election to Gil Carmichael, 17,216 (53 percent) to 15,236 (47 percent). Carmichael had been the 1975 nominee against Cliff Finch and had also carried the GOP banner against U.S. Senator James Eastland in 1972.