1966 United States Senate election in Virginia

1966 United States Senate election in Virginia
	County and independent city results; Spong: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Ould: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70-80%
U.S. senator before election; A. Willis Robertson; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; William B. Spong Jr.; Democratic

The 1966 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 8, 1966. Senator A. Willis Robertson ran for re-election to a fourth term in office but was defeated in the Democratic primary by State Senator William B. Spong Jr. Spong then defeated Republican James Ould and Independent F. Lee Hawthorne in the general election.

This was the last time a Democrat won the Class II senate seat from Virginia until 2008. The election was held on the same day as a special election for Virginia's other United States Senate seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

A. Willis Robertson, incumbent Senator since 1946
William B. Spong Jr., State Senator from Portsmouth

Campaign

Senator Robertson had long been one of the most conservative members of the Democratic Party and had opposed most civil rights legislation. To secure his defeat, President Lyndon B. Johnson personally recruited State Senator William B. Spong Jr., a much more liberal member of the party, to challenge Robertson in the Democratic primary.^{[citation needed]}

Spong relied on support from newly enfranchised Black voters and former Byrd Democrats who had given up resistance to racial integration.^{[citation needed]}

Results

1966 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William B. Spong Jr.	216,885	50.07%
	Democratic	A. Willis Robertson (incumbent)	216,274	49.93%
	Write-in		1	0.00%
Total votes			433,160	100.00%

Spong's extremely narrow 611-vote victory was received as a major upset and heralded an end to the conservative Byrd Organization's dominance in the Virginia Democratic Party.

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1966^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William B. Spong Jr.	429,855	58.57%	22.70
	Republican	James P. Ould, Jr.	245,681	33.48%	N/A
	Independent	F. Lee Hawthorne	58,251	7.94%	N/A
	Write-in		92	0.01%	0.17
Majority			184,174	25.10%	−41.93%
Turnout			733,879
	Democratic hold

References

^ "Our Campaigns - VA US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 14, 1966".
^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966" (PDF). Clerk of the House of Representatives. p. 43.

External links

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[1] "Our Campaigns - VA US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 14, 1966".

[2] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966" (PDF). Clerk of the House of Representatives. p. 43.

[1]

[2]

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Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

General election

Results

See also

References

External links