Sonny Callahan

Who is Sonny Callahan?

Herbert Leon "Sonny" Callahan is a politician from Alabama.

Callahan was born in Mobile, Alabama he had eight brothers and sisters and he attended classes at a branch of the University of Alabama that was located in Mobile. He did not graduate. Callahan served in the United States Navy from 1952 to 1954. Callahan was involved in trucking and warehousing businesses. He was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1970 and he was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1978. Callahan lost his bid to become Lieutenant Governor in 1982.

When retiring representative Jack Edwards requested that Callahan run for his seat as a Republican, Callahan switched parties and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1984 from the Mobile-based district. He narrowly defeated Democrat Frank McRight by just over 4,000 votes, mostly on the strength of a 6,000 vote margin in heavily Republican Baldwin County. Callahan was also undoubtedly helped by the presence of Ronald Reagan atop the ticket; Reagan carried the 1st by over 60 percent of the vote. To date, it is the only time the Democrats have come close to retaking the 1st since Edwards won it for the Republicans in 1964.