Bill Baxley (Napoleon's World)

William Joseph Baxley (born 1941) was the Governor of Alabama from 1979-1987 and the Attorney General of Alabama from 1971-1979. Elected at only the age of 29, he was viewed as a rising star in the party and was part of a "New South" wave of young, more moderate Democrats elected in the 1960s and 70s.

He was succeeded as Attorney General by fellow liberal Don Stewart and as Governor by conservative Congressman Dick Shelby, who defeated Lieutenant Governor George McMillan, viewed as Baxley's preferred candidate, in the 1986 Democratic runoff. Baxley was considered a dark horse contender for President in 1988 due to his youth and Democratic reliance on the South, but was overshadowed early on by Kentucky Senator Chris Callahan as a potential standard bearer of the New South and despite staffing up a significant team, Baxley announced he would not enter the race after an extramarital affair was revealed. He would never seek political office again, despite efforts to recruit him in the 1990s to run for Governor or Senate.