1956 West Virginia gubernatorial election

none related races 1956 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1956 West Virginia gubernatorial election West Virginia presidential 1952 West Virginia gubernatorial election 1952 1960 West Virginia gubernatorial election 1960 no November 6, 1956 75.1% (of registered voters) File:Cecil Underwood.jpg 150x150px Cecil H. Underwood Republican Party (United States) 440,502 53.9% File:Bob Mollohan.jpg Bob Mollohan Democratic Party (United States) 377,121 46.1% 1956 West Virginia gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 250px County results Underwood: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90% Mollohan: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% Governor William C. Marland Democratic Party (United States) Cecil H. Underwood Republican Party (United States) The 1956 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956 to elect the governor of West Virginia. Republican state delegate Cecil H. Underwood won the election over Democratic U.S. representative Bob Mollohan; he was the first Republican elected as governor of West Virginia since 1928 and one of the youngest elected governors in United States history at 34 years old.Former Gov. Underwood dead Kabler, Phil Charleston Gazette November 25, 2008 http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200811241158 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081206021153/http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200811241158 2008-12-06 Former Gov. Cecil Underwood has died at 86 Charleston Daily Mail November 24, 2008 http://www.charlestondailymail.com/News/200811240843 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110708135412/http://www.charlestondailymail.com/News/200811240843 July 8, 2011 Primary elections were held on August 5. In the Democratic primary, Mollohan defeated a divided field led by tax commissioner Milton J. Ferguson and West Virginia Senate clerk J. Howard Myers. In the Republican primary, Underwood narrowly defeated Charleston mayor John T. Coperhaver Sr. Underwood's campaign was boosted only a week prior to the general election, when it was reported that Mollohan had accepted gifts from a coal operator on a stripe mine while Mollohan was a state prison superintendent at Pruntytown Correctional Center. Underwood won the general election by a surprisingly wide margin. Democratic primary Candidates Joe F. Burdett, president of the West Virginia Board of ControlOctober 22, 1958 Raleigh Register Newspaper Archives, Oct 22, 1958, p. 2 https://newspaperarchive.com/raleigh-register-oct-22-1958-p-2/ subscription July 13, 2026 The Raleigh Register October 22, 1958 Beckley, W. Va. 2 Milton J. Ferguson, commissioner of the West Virginia Tax Division since 1953 and former state delegate from WayneFerguson Milton J. https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=oral_history Oral History Interview: Milton J. Ferguson Marshall University Oral History Collection 1973 Huntington, W. Va. J. Howard Myers, clerk of the West Virginia Senate Bob Mollohan, U.S. representative from Fairmont Albert D. Viller Results 1956 Democratic gubernatorial primaryWest Virginia Blue Book 1956 1956 Myers J. Howard https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/publications/bluebook/WVS_Bluebook_1956.pdf Jarrett Printing Company Charleston, W. Va. 651 Democratic Party (United States) Bob Mollohan 148,557 42.58% Democratic Party (US) Milton J. Ferguson 95,869 27.48% Democratic Party (United States) J. Howard Myers 75,606 21.67% Democratic Party (US) Joe F. Burdett 24,913 7.14%Democratic Party (US) Albert D. Viller 3,969 1.14% 194,668 100.00% Republican primary Candidates John T. Coperhaver Sr., mayor of Charleston Millard A. Holliday Sr. Cecil H. Underwood, state delegate from Sistersville Results 1956 Republican gubernatorial primaryWest Virginia Blue Book 1956 1956 Myers J. Howard https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/publications/bluebook/WVS_Bluebook_1956.pdf Jarrett Printing Company Charleston, W. Va. 670 Republican Party (United States) Cecil H. Underwood 98,344 50.52% Republican Party (US) John T. Copenhaver 91,088 46.79% Republican Party (United States) Millard A. Holliday Sr. 5,236 2.69% 194,668 100.00% General election Candidates Bob Mollohan, U.S. representative from Fairmont (Democratic) Cecil H. Underwood, state delegate from St. Marys (Republican) Campaign Although in the wake of the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, educational desegregation was a live issue across much of the south and the border areas in 1956, it was less salient in West Virginia because Mollohan had not signed the Southern Manifesto and Underwood campaigned on continuing his William C. Marland's policy of desegregation of West Virginia schools and support of civil rights legislation. Results 1956 West Virginia gubernatorial electionWest Virginia Blue Book 1957 1957 Myers J. Howard https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/publications/bluebook/WVS_Bluebook_1957.pdf Jarrett Printing Company Charleston, W. Va. 684 Republican Party (United States) Cecil H. Underwood 440,502 53.88 Democratic Party (United States) Bob Mollohan 377,121 46.12 817,633 100 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) Results by county County Cecil Harland UnderwoodRepublican Robert Homer MollohanDemocratic Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % Barbour 4,398 54.49% 3,673 45.51% 725 8.98% 8,071 Berkeley 8,646 59.82% 5,807 40.18% 2,839 19.64% 14,453 Boone 5,390 44.65% 6,681 55.35% -1,291 -10.70% 12,071 Braxton 3,466 47.77% 3,790 52.23% -324 -4.47% 7,256 Brooke 5,550 43.42% 7,233 56.58% -1,683 -13.17% 12,783 Cabell 28,872 61.99% 17,707 38.01% 11,165 23.97% 46,579 Calhoun 2,014 48.95% 2,100 51.05% -86 -2.09% 4,114 Clay 2,846 52.79% 2,545 47.21% 301 5.58% 5,391 Doddridge 2,637 75.04% 877 24.96% 1,760 50.09% 3,514 Fayette 10,906 41.70% 15,249 58.30% -4,343 -16.60% 26,155 Gilmer 1,813 48.46% 1,928 51.54% -115 -3.07% 3,741 Grant 3,321 84.10% 628 15.90% 2,693 68.19% 3,949 Greenbrier 7,975 56.05% 6,254 43.95% 1,721 12.10% 14,229 Hampshire 2,242 46.36% 2,594 53.64% -352 -7.28% 4,836 Hancock 7,764 43.81% 9,956 56.19% -2,192 -12.37% 17,720 Hardy 2,169 50.31% 2,142 49.69% 27 0.63% 4,311 Harrison 21,763 56.19% 16,969 43.81% 4,794 12.38% 38,732 Jackson 4,997 66.41% 2,527 33.59% 2,470 32.83% 7,524 Jefferson 3,073 47.97% 3,333 52.03% -260 -4.06% 6,406 Kanawha 62,142 57.75% 45,455 42.25% 16,687 15.51% 107,597 Lewis 6,143 66.22% 3,133 33.78% 3,010 32.45% 9,276 Lincoln 4,877 49.49% 4,978 50.51% -101 -1.02% 9,855 Logan 10,476 41.68% 14,658 58.32% -4,182 -16.64% 25,134 Marion 15,168 47.49% 16,769 52.51% -1,601 -5.01% 31,937 Marshall 8,464 50.75% 8,215 49.25% 249 1.49% 16,679 Mason 6,272 63.24% 3,646 36.76% 2,626 26.48% 9,918 McDowell 10,264 37.29% 17,258 62.71% -6,994 -25.41% 27,522 Mercer 13,715 50.01% 13,711 49.99% 4 0.01% 27,426 Mineral 5,768 59.02% 4,005 40.98% 1,763 18.04% 9,773 Mingo 7,476 42.32% 10,191 57.68% -2,715 -15.37% 17,667 Monongalia 13,594 55.03% 11,111 44.97% 2,483 10.05% 24,705 Monroe 3,547 56.72% 2,707 43.28% 840 13.43% 6,254 Morgan 2,792 70.65% 1,160 29.35% 1,632 41.30% 3,952 Nicholas 5,413 54.39% 4,539 45.61% 874 8.78% 9,952 Ohio 18,964 54.20% 16,024 45.80% 2,940 8.40% 34,988 Pendleton 2,025 52.02% 1,868 47.98% 157 4.03% 3,893 Pleasants 2,194 59.20% 1,512 40.80% 682 18.40% 3,706 Pocahontas 3,008 55.50% 2,412 44.50% 596 11.00% 5,420 Preston 7,535 68.18% 3,517 31.82% 4,018 36.36% 11,052 Putnam 5,809 57.03% 4,376 42.97% 1,433 14.07% 10,185 Raleigh 16,167 50.28% 15,984 49.72% 183 0.57% 32,151 Randolph 5,676 51.48% 5,349 48.52% 327 2.97% 11,025 Ritchie 4,174 74.98% 1,393 25.02% 2,781 49.96% 5,567 Roane 4,701 60.64% 3,051 39.36% 1,650 21.28% 7,752 Summers 3,781 50.78% 3,665 49.22% 116 1.56% 7,446 Taylor 4,516 58.35% 3,223 41.65% 1,293 16.71% 7,739 Tucker 2,386 54.03% 2,030 45.97% 356 8.06% 4,416 Tyler 3,675 74.11% 1,284 25.89% 2,391 48.22% 4,959 Upshur 5,632 73.95% 1,984 26.05% 3,648 47.90% 7,616 Wayne 8,207 52.05% 7,561 47.95% 646 4.10% 15,768 Webster 2,372 44.25% 2,989 55.75% -617 -11.51% 5,361 Wetzel 4,652 53.37% 4,065 46.63% 587 6.73% 8,717 Wirt 1,413 56.63% 1,082 43.37% 331 13.27% 2,495 Wood 21,000 61.80% 12,978 38.20% 8,022 23.61% 33,978 Wyoming 6,662 47.90% 7,245 52.10% -583 -4.19% 13,907Totals440,502377,13153.88%46.12%63,3717.75%817,633 Aftermath Underwood's first act as governor was to go on television (a relatively new medium for political communication) and inform every state employee that they were fired. He argued that this was the only way to destroy the corrupt "machine" system. He later advocated an organized civil service and retirement pension system and provided temporary employment relief for low-income families. References 30em External links Democratic primary results Republican primary results 1956 gubernatorial West Virginia Category:November 1956 in the United States