1957 Virginia gubernatorial election

none related races 1957 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1957 Virginia gubernatorial election Virginia presidential no 1953 Virginia gubernatorial election 1953 1961 Virginia gubernatorial election 1961 November 5, 1957 File:J. Lindsay Almond (VA).png 150x150px J. Lindsay Almond Democratic Party (United States) 326,921 63.2% File:Ted Dalton 1956.jpg Ted Dalton Republican Party (United States) 188,628 36.4% 1957 Virginia gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 300px County and independent city resultsAlmond: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d056c >90%Dalton: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% Governor Thomas B. Stanley Democratic Party (United States) J. Lindsay Almond Democratic Party (United States) In the 1957 Virginia gubernatorial election, incumbent Governor Thomas B. Stanley, a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. State Senator Theodore Roosevelt Dalton was again nominated by the Republican Party to run against former Democratic Attorney General J. Lindsay Almond. As of 2025, this is the last occasion when Rockingham County or Shenandoah County voted Democratic for Governor. Background The preceding election had seen Dalton receive 45 percent of Virginia's limited electorate, which was the most any GOP nominee had garnered since 1885 when large numbers of subsequently disenfranchised blacks and poor whites remained enfranchised.Kousser J. Morgan The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910 1974 Yale University Press 178–181 0-300-01696-4 This alongside the election of three Representatives in 1952 produced expectations of a continued GOP rise in Virginia.Atkinson Frank B. The Dynamic Dominion: Realignment and the rise of Two-Party Competition in Virginia, 1945-1980 2006 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Lanham, Maryland 9780742552081 78-79 As early as 1950, sitting Attorney-General Lindsay Almond had helped eight black students led by Irving Linwood Peddrew III integrate Virginia Polytechnic Institute,Kennelly Tamara 2018 The Quiet Path of an Invisible Man: Irving Linwood Peddrew III and Desegregation at Virginia Tech The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography Richmond, Virginia 126 4 422 which suggested that the state would be able to navigate the emerging Civil Rights movement reasonably well. Brown v. Board of Education Governor Stanley did not wish to defy the federal courts against 1954's landmark Brown v. Board of Education.Heinemann Ronald L. Younger Edward Moore James Tice The Governors of Virginia, 1860-1978 1982 University of Virginia Press Charlottesville 340-344 Thomas B. Stanley: Reluctant Resister but did urge black leaders to not press for compliance.Smith Douglas "When Reason Collides with Prejudice": Armistead Lloyd Boothe and the Politics of Desegregation in Virginia, 1948-1963 The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography January 1994 102 1 5-46 Virginia Historical Society However, a year of black pressure caused the white masses to protest demanding that integration be resisted much more vigorously,Buni Andrew The Negro in Virginia Politics 1902–1965 University of Virginia Press 1967 Charlottesville, Virginia 175-178 Prelude to Massive Resistance something Senator Byrd and his ruling machine had always urged.Lechner Ira M. Massive Resistance: Virginia's Great Leap Backward The Virginia Quarterly Review Autumn 1998 74 4 631-640 Polls carried out by the state's highest-circulation newspaper, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in 1956 showed that 92 percent of white Virginians supported segregation and only six percent opposed.Ely James W. The Crisis of Conservative Virginia: The Byrd Organization and the Politics of Massive Resistance 1976 University of Tennessee Press Knoxville 0870491881 5 A referendum in January 1956, in which turnout of registered voters was extremely low in the whitest parts of the state, voted 304 thousand to 144 thousand in favour of a constitutional conventionThis Convention would be known as the Commission on Constitutional Government (CCG). with the explicit goal of maintaining segregated schools,Muse Benjamin Virginia's Massive Resistance 1961 Indiana University Press 19 and in August Stanley presented a package of legislation that mandated closing any public school under a Federal desegregation order, which passed the legislature under a tide of "segregationist emotionalism".Hershman, Jr. James H. Public School Bonds and Virginia's Massive Resistance The Journal of Negro Education Autumn 1983 52 4 398-409 This severely divided and weakened the emerging Republican opposition to the Byrd Organization,Atkinson The Dynamic Dominion 2006 93-99 and also progressive state Democrats. Virginia was one of seven states whose entire Congressional delegation had signed the "Southern Manifesto" in March.The others were Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. Virginia was nonetheless unique among those states in having two Republicans in Richard H. Poff and Joel Broyhill sign the Manifesto. Democratic nomination Candidates 1957 Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary Democratic Party (United States) J. Lindsay Almond 119,307 79.48% Democratic Party (United States) Howard H. Carwile 30,794 20.52% 88,513 58.94% 150,101 Democratic Party (United States) General election Campaign Several members of the ruling Byrd Organization would contemplate running for Governor in the aftermath of the "Southern Manifesto", but by December it was clear that sitting Attorney General Almond would be the organization nominee.Bartley Numan V. The Rise of Massive Resistance: Race and Politics in the South during the 1950's 1969 Louisiana State University Press Baton Rouge 272 which under the extremely restricted Virginia electorate was tantamount to gaining the Democratic nomination, which Almond did by a four-to-one majority in the July primary.VA Governor – D Primary, July 09, 1957 https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=351594 Our Campaigns Unlike previous organization nominees, Almond had not been a favorite of Byrd especially given his past role in integrating Virginia Polytechnic, but sought the governorship for himself, in the process adopting Byrd's rigid segregationist views from the start of the campaign. Dalton's 45 percent of the vote in 1953 remained viewed as extremely impressive, but he was reluctant before accepting the Republican nomination a second time.Muse Virginia's Massive Resistance 1961 41-42 School segregation was the solitary issue in the campaign, with Dalton proposing locally administered pupil assignment plans,These were already being tried in North Carolina at the time of the election.Latimer James Almond Is Elected Governor: Victory Margin Is About 2–1; Dalton, Sure Only of 10th, Concedes Defeat at 9:15 P.M. Richmond Times-Dispatch November 6, 1957 1, 2 emphasising the need to keep public schools open,Lewis George Massive Resistance: The White Response to the Civil Rights Movement 2006 Oxford University Press 9780340900222 60 and criticizing "Massive Resistance".Democratic Victories Rebuff to Eisenhower The Herald-Sun United Press Durham, North Carolina 1 Despite publicly expressing doubts about his campaign promises to prevent any integration whatsoever, Almond supported "Massive Resistance" and vigorously exploited the ongoing Little Rock Crisis to successfully argue that Dalton's policy would be certain to result in large-scale integration. When Almond improved upon Stanley's 1953 margin by sixteen percentage points, Senator Byrd, alongside the governor-elect, said that the election was a mandateto defend and preserve the inherent powers of Virginia's sovereign statehood. Predictions SourceRankingAs ofLedger-StarDodson Bob Gubernatorial Polls Start Light: J. Lindsay Almond Has Big Lead Over Ted Dalton in First Count Ledger-Star September 30, 1957 Norfolk, Virginia 7Certain DSeptember 30, 1957 Candidates J. Lindsay Almond, former Attorney General (Democratic) Theodore Roosevelt Dalton, State Senator from Radford (Republican) C. Gilmer Brooks, automobile salesmanAuto Salesman to Seek Virginia Governor's Chair Richmond News-Leader July 12, 1957 4 (Independent) Results 1957 Virginia gubernatorial electionhttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=239640 Our Campaigns VA Governor Race — Nov 05, 1957 Democratic Party (United States) J. Lindsay Almond 326,921 63.16% +8.33% Republican Party (United States) Theodore Roosevelt Dalton 188,628 36.44% -7.84% Independent politician C. Gilmer Brooks 2,089 0.40% 138,293 26.72% +16.17% 517,638 Democratic Party (United States) Results by county or independent city +1957 Virginia gubernatorial election by county or independent city James Lindsay Almond Jr. Democratic Theodore Roosevelt DaltonRepublican C. Gilmer BrooksIndependent Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Accomack County 3,215 81.02% 741 18.67% 12 0.30% 2,474 62.35% 3,968 Albemarle County 2,065 68.13% 959 31.64% 7 0.23% 1,106 36.49% 3,031 Alleghany County 867 59.22% 592 40.44% 5 0.34% 275 18.78% 1,464 Amelia County 1,097 74.73% 366 24.93% 5 0.34% 731 49.80% 1,468 Amherst County 2,119 80.51% 504 19.15% 9 0.34% 1,615 61.36% 2,632 Appomattox County 1,776 87.70% 247 12.20% 2 0.10% 1,529 75.51% 2,025 Arlington County 12,368 46.84% 13,660 51.74% 375 1.42% -1,292 -4.89% 26,403 Augusta County 2,106 57.23% 1,569 42.64% 5 0.14% 537 14.59% 3,680 Bath County 501 61.78% 307 37.85% 3 0.37% 194 23.92% 811 Bedford County 3,376 70.38% 1,413 29.46% 8 0.17% 1,963 40.92% 4,797 Bland County 731 49.49% 740 50.10% 6 0.41% -9 -0.61% 1,477 Botetourt County 1,753 55.13% 1,421 44.69% 6 0.19% 332 10.44% 3,180 Brunswick County 2,508 84.84% 447 15.12% 1 0.03% 2,061 69.72% 2,956 Buchanan County 2,148 47.95% 2,297 51.27% 35 0.78% -149 -3.33% 4,480 Buckingham County 1,190 81.06% 276 18.80% 2 0.14% 914 62.26% 1,468 Campbell County 3,276 77.78% 930 22.08% 6 0.14% 2,346 55.70% 4,212 Caroline County 1,399 70.66% 577 29.14% 4 0.20% 822 41.52% 1,980 Carroll County 1,514 33.72% 2,968 66.10% 8 0.18% -1,454 -32.38% 4,490 Charles City County 295 36.51% 512 63.37% 1 0.12% -217 -26.86% 808 Charlotte County 2,128 90.09% 232 9.82% 2 0.08% 1,896 80.27% 2,362 Chesterfield County 6,185 76.33% 1,900 23.45% 18 0.22% 4,285 52.88% 8,103 Clarke County 888 77.55% 255 22.27% 2 0.17% 633 55.28% 1,145 Craig County 517 65.11% 277 34.89% 0 0.00% 240 30.23% 794 Culpeper County 1,661 75.91% 517 23.63% 10 0.46% 1,144 52.29% 2,188 Cumberland County 888 77.69% 253 22.13% 2 0.17% 635 55.56% 1,143 Dickenson County 2,673 52.18% 2,428 47.39% 22 0.43% 245 4.78% 5,123 Dinwiddie County 1,773 83.75% 341 16.11% 3 0.14% 1,432 67.64% 2,117 Essex County 692 76.04% 216 23.74% 2 0.22% 476 52.31% 910 Fairfax County 10,948 46.25% 12,538 52.97% 184 0.78% -1,590 -6.72% 23,670 Fauquier County 2,148 73.61% 767 26.29% 3 0.10% 1,381 47.33% 2,918 Floyd County 774 37.52% 1,289 62.48% 0 0.00% -515 -24.96% 2,063 Fluvanna County 786 73.94% 273 25.68% 4 0.38% 513 48.26% 1,063 Franklin County 2,324 67.64% 1,107 32.22% 5 0.15% 1,217 35.42% 3,436 Frederick County 1,569 70.96% 613 27.73% 29 1.31% 956 43.24% 2,211 Giles County 1,871 54.44% 1,526 44.40% 40 1.16% 345 10.04% 3,437 Gloucester County 1,456 73.54% 522 26.36% 2 0.10% 934 47.17% 1,980 Goochland County 989 75.09% 323 24.53% 5 0.38% 666 50.57% 1,317 Grayson County 2,470 44.28% 3,087 55.34% 21 0.38% -617 -11.06% 5,578 Greene County 276 56.67% 211 43.33% 0 0.00% 65 13.35% 487 Greensville County 1,935 81.30% 433 18.19% 12 0.50% 1,502 63.11% 2,380 Halifax County 4,303 86.51% 658 13.23% 13 0.26% 3,645 73.28% 4,974 Hanover County 2,733 75.90% 857 23.80% 11 0.31% 1,876 52.10% 3,601 Henrico County 10,736 76.86% 3,211 22.99% 21 0.15% 7,525 53.87% 13,968 Henry County 2,722 70.89% 1,108 28.85% 10 0.26% 1,614 42.03% 3,840 Highland County 430 58.90% 298 40.82% 2 0.27% 132 18.08% 730 Isle of Wight County 1,974 75.14% 641 24.40% 12 0.46% 1,333 50.74% 2,627 James City County 611 63.05% 357 36.84% 1 0.10% 254 26.21% 969 King and Queen County 599 71.82% 227 27.22% 8 0.96% 372 44.60% 834 King George County 655 67.81% 304 31.47% 7 0.72% 351 36.34% 966 King William County 861 73.46% 310 26.45% 1 0.09% 551 47.01% 1,172 Lancaster County 1,062 69.78% 453 29.76% 7 0.46% 609 40.01% 1,522 Lee County 3,693 53.96% 3,110 45.44% 41 0.60% 583 8.52% 6,844 Loudoun County 2,439 70.29% 1,012 29.16% 19 0.55% 1,427 41.12% 3,470 Louisa County 1,656 76.74% 491 22.75% 11 0.51% 1,165 53.99% 2,158 Lunenburg County 2,117 90.86% 211 9.06% 2 0.09% 1,906 81.80% 2,330 Madison County 807 71.61% 319 28.31% 1 0.09% 488 43.30% 1,127 Mathews County 894 71.86% 346 27.81% 4 0.32% 548 44.05% 1,244 Mecklenburg County 3,513 88.20% 460 11.55% 10 0.25% 3,053 76.65% 3,983 Middlesex County 887 74.85% 294 24.81% 4 0.34% 593 50.04% 1,185 Montgomery County 2,190 40.61% 3,192 59.19% 11 0.20% -1,002 -18.58% 5,393 Nansemond County 2,601 65.50% 1,358 34.20% 12 0.30% 1,243 31.30% 3,971 Nelson County 1,295 83.07% 262 16.81% 2 0.13% 1,033 66.26% 1,559 New Kent County 511 67.50% 242 31.97% 4 0.53% 269 35.54% 757 Norfolk County 6,215 77.30% 1,803 22.43% 22 0.27% 4,412 54.88% 8,040 Northampton County 1,618 82.59% 340 17.36% 1 0.05% 1,278 65.24% 1,959 Northumberland County 1,194 74.30% 407 25.33% 6 0.37% 787 48.97% 1,607 Nottoway County 2,453 84.67% 438 15.12% 6 0.21% 2,015 69.55% 2,897 Orange County 1,598 77.61% 453 22.00% 8 0.39% 1,145 55.61% 2,059 Page County 1,944 56.71% 1,458 42.53% 26 0.76% 486 14.18% 3,428 Patrick County 1,841 80.25% 450 19.62% 3 0.13% 1,391 60.64% 2,294 Pittsylvania County 5,570 87.30% 785 12.30% 25 0.39% 4,785 75.00% 6,380 Powhatan County 756 66.14% 385 33.68% 2 0.17% 371 32.46% 1,143 Prince Edward County 2,344 83.36% 463 16.47% 5 0.18% 1,881 66.89% 2,812 Prince George County 870 76.12% 270 23.62% 3 0.26% 600 52.49% 1,143 Prince William County 2,036 70.67% 829 28.77% 16 0.56% 1,207 41.90% 2,881 Princess Anne County 4,915 73.33% 1,776 26.50% 12 0.18% 3,139 46.83% 6,703 Pulaski County 2,099 47.33% 2,330 52.54% 6 0.14% -231 -5.21% 4,435 Rappahannock County 604 75.41% 196 24.47% 1 0.12% 408 50.94% 801 Richmond County 646 74.86% 215 24.91% 2 0.23% 431 49.94% 863 Roanoke County 4,219 53.16% 3,706 46.69% 12 0.15% 513 6.46% 7,937 Rockbridge County 1,343 52.83% 1,195 47.01% 4 0.16% 148 5.82% 2,542 Rockingham County 2,084 51.22% 1,960 48.17% 25 0.61% 124 3.05% 4,069 Russell County 2,666 51.28% 2,515 48.37% 18 0.35% 151 2.90% 5,199 Scott County 2,436 38.87% 3,804 60.70% 27 0.43% -1,368 -21.83% 6,267 Shenandoah County 2,318 49.99% 2,308 49.77% 11 0.24% 10 0.22% 4,637 Smyth County 2,268 43.14% 2,978 56.65% 11 0.21% -710 -13.51% 5,257 Southampton County 2,711 80.80% 632 18.84% 12 0.36% 2,079 61.97% 3,355 Spotsylvania County 1,392 72.96% 510 26.73% 6 0.31% 882 46.23% 1,908 Stafford County 1,212 69.70% 519 29.84% 8 0.46% 693 39.85% 1,739 Surry County 977 74.18% 334 25.36% 6 0.46% 643 48.82% 1,317 Sussex County 1,619 82.48% 341 17.37% 3 0.15% 1,278 65.10% 1,963 Tazewell County 3,104 57.13% 2,303 42.39% 26 0.48% 801 14.74% 5,433 Warren County 1,649 65.41% 859 34.07% 13 0.52% 790 31.34% 2,521 Warwick County 5,013 68.90% 2,232 30.68% 31 0.43% 2,781 38.22% 7,276 Washington County 3,164 52.21% 2,875 47.44% 21 0.35% 289 4.77% 6,060 Westmoreland County 1,038 78.70% 279 21.15% 2 0.15% 759 57.54% 1,319 Wise County 5,024 67.24% 2,423 32.43% 25 0.33% 2,601 34.81% 7,472 Wythe County 1,866 48.11% 1,961 50.55% 52 1.34% -95 -2.45% 3,879 York County 1,491 68.90% 656 30.31% 17 0.79% 835 38.59% 2,164 Alexandria City 5,081 56.58% 3,844 42.81% 55 0.61% 1,237 13.78% 8,980 Bristol City 1,385 65.27% 721 33.98% 16 0.75% 664 31.29% 2,122 Buena Vista City 527 67.13% 258 32.87% 0 0.00% 269 34.27% 785 Charlottesville City 2,839 61.28% 1,788 38.59% 6 0.13% 1,051 22.69% 4,633 Clifton Forge City 796 62.14% 484 37.78% 1 0.08% 312 24.36% 1,281 Colonial Heights City 1,322 89.32% 156 10.54% 2 0.14% 1,166 78.78% 1,480 Covington City 1,283 59.12% 883 40.69% 4 0.18% 400 18.43% 2,170 Danville City 4,215 80.56% 1,004 19.19% 13 0.25% 3,211 61.37% 5,232 Falls Church City 891 43.72% 1,129 55.40% 18 0.88% -238 -11.68% 2,038 Fredericksburg City 1,414 62.98% 822 36.61% 9 0.40% 592 26.37% 2,245 Galax City 537 43.62% 690 56.05% 4 0.32% -153 -12.43% 1,231 Hampton City 5,863 64.00% 3,273 35.73% 25 0.27% 2,590 28.27% 9,161 Harrisonburg City 2,084 51.22% 1,960 48.17% 25 0.61% 124 3.05% 4,069 Hopewell City 1,990 77.22% 581 22.55% 6 0.23% 1,409 54.68% 2,577 Lynchburg City 4,626 67.08% 2,262 32.80% 8 0.12% 2,364 34.28% 6,896 Martinsville City 1,774 60.77% 1,142 39.12% 3 0.10% 632 21.65% 2,919 Newport News City 3,146 55.92% 2,435 43.28% 45 0.80% 711 12.64% 5,626 Norfolk City 14,109 61.57% 8,741 38.14% 67 0.29% 5,368 23.42% 22,917 Norton City 535 59.25% 365 40.42% 3 0.33% 170 18.83% 903 Petersburg City 3,141 72.39% 1,186 27.33% 12 0.28% 1,955 45.06% 4,339 Portsmouth City 5,711 66.35% 2,862 33.25% 35 0.41% 2,849 33.10% 8,608 Radford City 1,079 38.54% 1,721 61.46% 0 0.00% -642 -22.93% 2,800 Richmond City 21,177 64.45% 11,665 35.50% 15 0.05% 9,512 28.95% 32,857 Roanoke City 9,858 55.52% 7,866 44.30% 31 0.17% 1,992 11.22% 17,755 South Norfolk City 1,998 75.74% 629 23.84% 11 0.42% 1,369 51.90% 2,638 Staunton City 1,590 51.39% 1,495 48.32% 9 0.29% 95 3.07% 3,094 Suffolk City 1,677 72.01% 646 27.74% 6 0.26% 1,031 44.27% 2,329 Virginia Beach City 1,161 73.67% 412 26.14% 3 0.19% 749 47.53% 1,576 Waynesboro City 1,252 53.80% 1,067 45.85% 8 0.34% 185 7.95% 2,327 Williamsburg City 521 55.54% 410 43.71% 7 0.75% 111 11.83% 938 Winchester City 1,442 67.51% 670 31.37% 24 1.12% 772 36.14% 2,136Totals326,92163.16%188,62836.44%2,0890.40%138,29326.72%517,638 Counties and independent cities that flipped from Democratic to Republican Buchanan Charles City Counties and independent cities that flipped from Republican to Democratic Alleghany Botetourt Giles Henrico James City Lee Roanoke Shenadoah Stafford Warwick Covington (independent city) Fredericksburg (independent city) Norfolk (independent city) Roanoke (independent city) Staunton (independent city) Warwick (independent city) Waynesboro (independent city) Notes "note" References collapsed Gubernatorial 1957 Virginia Category:November 1957 in the United States Category:1957 in Virginia