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Armageddon Revisited: The 1973 Gubernatorial Election In Virginia, James R. Sweeney Jan 2022

Armageddon Revisited: The 1973 Gubernatorial Election In Virginia, James R. Sweeney

History Faculty Publications

Threatening a lawsuit, Howell prepared a memorandum to NBC citing evidence of voters changing their votes to Godwin, because as one put it, "A national network can't be wrong."78 Howell's memorandum also mentioned an indirect tie of McGee to Godwin. Godwin constantly demanded that Howell disclose how he would replace the revenue under his tax plan.43 Throughout the campaign, Godwin stressed inconsistencies between positions Howell took on various issues in 1973 and what he had said in the past. Godwin also cited Howell's endorsement of his candidacy for governor in 1965 and his comment in April that Godwin …


Southern Strategies, James R. Sweeney Jan 1998

Southern Strategies, James R. Sweeney

History Faculty Publications

From the mid-1960's, Virginia Republicans, in tune with President Richard Nixon's active "Southern strategy," revived party fortunes in the state by capitalizing on the ongoing degeneration of Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr.'s powerful conservative Democratic organization and the factionalization of the state Democratic Party. Republican Abner Linwood Holton, Jr., solidly carried the 1969 gubernatorial election. In the 1970 senatorial election Independent Harry Flood Byrd, Jr., defeated Republican Ray Lucian Garland and Democrat George Rawlings. Senator Byrd, Jr., had enjoyed Nixon's "benevolent neutrality," but never did join the Republican Party as the president had hoped; in office he voted with …


Rum, Romanism, And Virginia Democrats: The Party Leaders And The Campaign Of 1928, James R. Sweeney Jan 1982

Rum, Romanism, And Virginia Democrats: The Party Leaders And The Campaign Of 1928, James R. Sweeney

History Faculty Publications

The 1928 presidential election posed problems for Virginia Democrats, who were traditionally Protestant and prohibitionist. New Yorker Al Smith's nomination split Virginia's party, allowing Republican Herbert C. Hoover to win by a healthy majority. Led by a Methodist Bishop James Cannon, Jr., Virginians who opposed Smith, a Roman Catholic, cited his link with Tammany Hall and his views on prohibition legislations as justifications to vote against him. State party leaders Harry Byrd, Carter Glass, Louis Joffe, and John Garland Pollard mounted a party loyalty campaign for Smith, but the election's central issue was whether or not a candidate's religion merited …


Revolt In Virginia: Harry Byrd And The 1952 Presidential Election, James R. Sweeney Jan 1978

Revolt In Virginia: Harry Byrd And The 1952 Presidential Election, James R. Sweeney

History Faculty Publications

When Senator Harry F. Byrd, longtime opponent of the policies of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, decided to support Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower for the Presidency in 1952, he weakened the Democratic Party in Virginia and set off a political revolt in that state that lasted for a quarter century. Based on newspaper accounts and on primary material in the University of Virginia; 40 notes.


The Golden Silence: The Virginia Democratic Party And The Presidential Election Of 1948, James R. Sweeney Jan 1974

The Golden Silence: The Virginia Democratic Party And The Presidential Election Of 1948, James R. Sweeney

History Faculty Publications

Disturbed by President Harry S. Truman's stand on civil rights, the Democratic Party leadership in Virginia, headed by Senator Harry Flood Byrd, determined to fight Truman's election in 1948. The Byrd organization's strategy was to keep Truman from winning Virginia's electoral votes by releasing the state's electors from the obligation to vote for the national party nominee, but Byrd's opposition managed to mount a last minute pro-Truman movement which carried the state for the President.