1969 Virginia gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1969 United States gubernatorial elections.

1969 Virginia gubernatorial election

←  1965 November 4, 1969 1973  →

Nominee Linwood Holton William C. Battle Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 480,869 415,695 Percentage 52.5% 45.4%

County and independent city results Holton:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Battle:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election Mills Godwin Democratic Elected Governor Linwood Holton Republican

In the 1969 Virginia gubernatorial election, incumbent Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Godwin would later successfully run for election as a Republican in 1973.

A. Linwood Holton, Jr., an attorney from Roanoke, was nominated again by the Republican Party to run against former United States Ambassador to Australia, Democratic candidate William C. Battle.

The Democrats had held the governor's mansion for 84 years since 1885, and Holton's victory was considered a historic upset at the time. ^[1] This was the first occasion when Republicans won a gubernatorial election in the state.

Holton also won 37% of the African American vote.

Democratic nomination

Candidates

• William C. Battle, former U. S. Ambassador to Australia and son of former Governor John S. Battle
• Henry Howell, State Senator from Norfolk
• Fred G. Pollard, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and former State Delegate from Richmond

Results

Primary results by county and independent city

  Battle

•   Battle 30–40%
•   Battle 40–50%
•   Battle 50–60%
•   Battle 60–70%
•   Battle 70–80%
•   Battle 80–90%
•   Battle 90–100%

  Howell

•   Howell 30–40%
•   Howell 40–50%
•   Howell 50–60%
•   Howell 60–70%

  Pollard

•   Pollard 40–50%
•   Pollard 50–60%
•   Pollard 60–70%

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William C. Battle	158,956	39.6%
	Democratic	Henry Howell	154,617	37.0%
	Democratic	Fred G. Pollard	95,057	23.4%
Total votes			408,630	100.00%

Primary results by county and independent city

  Battle

•   Battle 50–60%
•   Battle 60–70%
•   Battle 70–80%
•   Battle 80–90%
•   Battle 90–100%

  Howell

•   Howell 50–60%
•   Howell 60–70%
•   Howell 70–80%
•   Howell 80–90%
•   Howell 90–100%

Democratic primary runoff results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William C. Battle	226,108	51.7%
	Democratic	Henry Howell	207,505	48.3%
Total votes			433,613	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• William C. Battle, former U. S. Ambassador to Australia and son of former Governor John S. Battle (Democratic)
• Linwood Holton, Roanoke attorney (Republican)
• Rev. Beverly McDowell, Richmond pastor (Conservative) ^[4]
• William Pennington, Buckingham County physician (American Independent) ^[5]
• George Walker, retired Navy officer from Portsmouth (Independent) ^[6]

Results

1969 Virginia gubernatorial election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	A. Linwood Holton, Jr.	480,869	52.51%	+14.80%
	Democratic	William C. Battle	415,695	45.39%	−2.50%
	Conservative	Beverly McDowell	10,596	1.16%	−12.22%
	American Independent	William Pennington	7,382	0.81%	+0.81%
	Independent	George Walker	1,182	0.13%
	Write-ins		317	<0.01%
Majority			65,174	7.12%	−7.86%
Turnout			915,764
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

Results by county or independent city

1969 Virginia gubernatorial election by county or independent city ^[8]

	Abner Linwood Holton jr. Republican		William C. Battle Democratic		Beverley B. McDowell Virginia Conservative		William A. Pennington American Independent		George R. Walker Independent		Various candidates Write-ins		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Accomack County	3,188	48.25%	3,207	48.54%	201	3.04%	8	0.12%	3	0.05%			-19	-0.29%	6,607
Albemarle County	3,001	48.05%	3,136	50.22%	50	0.80%	52	0.83%	6	0.10%			-135	-2.16%	6,245
Alleghany County	1,312	51.37%	1,224	47.92%	7	0.27%	10	0.39%	1	0.04%			88	3.45%	2,554
Amelia County	692	40.97%	841	49.79%	123	7.28%	26	1.54%	7	0.41%			-149	-8.82%	1,689
Amherst County	2,100	46.12%	2,264	49.73%	23	0.51%	159	3.49%	7	0.15%			-164	-3.60%	4,553
Appomattox County	1,072	37.13%	1,719	59.54%	9	0.31%	86	2.98%	1	0.03%			-647	-22.41%	2,887
Arlington County	18,418	50.51%	17,097	46.89%	702	1.93%	191	0.52%	51	0.14%	2	0.01%	1,321	3.62%	36,461
Augusta County	4,992	67.26%	2,365	31.86%	56	0.75%	6	0.08%	3	0.04%			2,627	35.39%	7,422
Bath County	547	47.28%	602	52.03%	0	0.00%	8	0.69%	0	0.00%			-55	-4.75%	1,157
Bedford County	2,254	48.45%	1,934	41.57%	91	1.96%	358	7.70%	15	0.32%			320	6.88%	4,652
Bland County	764	51.80%	702	47.59%	3	0.20%	1	0.07%	5	0.34%			62	4.20%	1,475
Botetourt County	2,244	58.27%	1,571	40.79%	4	0.10%	31	0.80%	1	0.03%			673	17.48%	3,851
Brunswick County	1,280	38.55%	1,776	53.49%	188	5.66%	68	2.05%	8	0.24%			-496	-14.94%	3,320
Buchanan County	3,379	43.78%	4,184	54.20%	103	1.33%	39	0.51%	14	0.18%			-805	-10.43%	7,719
Buckingham County	725	29.06%	1,319	52.87%	7	0.28%	442	17.72%	2	0.08%			-594	-23.81%	2,495
Campbell County	3,494	53.93%	2,436	37.60%	303	4.68%	231	3.57%	15	0.23%			1,058	16.33%	6,479
Caroline County	1,025	39.32%	1,530	58.69%	35	1.34%	14	0.54%	3	0.12%			-505	-19.37%	2,607
Carroll County	3,879	65.61%	1,988	33.63%	14	0.24%	18	0.30%	13	0.22%			1,891	31.99%	5,912
Charles City County	340	26.84%	911	71.90%	4	0.32%	8	0.63%	4	0.32%			-571	-45.07%	1,267
Charlotte County	988	41.22%	1,309	54.61%	21	0.88%	75	3.13%	4	0.17%			-321	-13.39%	2,397
Chesterfield County	17,261	67.46%	7,694	30.07%	419	1.64%	189	0.74%	24	0.09%			9,567	37.39%	25,587
Clarke County	853	46.28%	980	53.17%	3	0.16%	7	0.38%	0	0.00%			-127	-6.89%	1,843
Craig County	480	46.78%	543	52.92%	0	0.00%	3	0.29%	0	0.00%			-63	-6.14%	1,026
Culpeper County	1,642	50.32%	1,564	47.93%	7	0.21%	36	1.10%	14	0.43%			78	2.39%	3,263
Cumberland County	650	34.50%	1,173	62.26%	24	1.27%	31	1.65%	6	0.32%			-523	-27.76%	1,884
Dickenson County	3,377	51.54%	3,141	47.94%	12	0.18%	9	0.14%	13	0.20%			236	3.60%	6,552
Dinwiddie County	1,225	34.46%	2,172	61.10%	95	2.67%	56	1.58%	7	0.20%			-947	-26.64%	3,555
Essex County	555	38.78%	846	59.12%	5	0.35%	19	1.33%	6	0.42%			-291	-20.34%	1,431
Fairfax County	37,932	54.97%	30,370	44.01%	310	0.45%	363	0.53%	36	0.05%			7,562	10.96%	69,011
Fauquier County	2,345	48.85%	2,403	50.06%	15	0.31%	28	0.58%	9	0.19%			-58	-1.21%	4,800
Floyd County	1,607	67.15%	778	32.51%	3	0.13%	5	0.21%	0	0.00%			829	34.64%	2,393
Fluvanna County	620	52.23%	532	44.82%	12	1.01%	23	1.94%	0	0.00%			88	7.41%	1,187
Franklin County	2,018	40.53%	2,887	57.98%	8	0.16%	59	1.18%	7	0.14%			-869	-17.45%	4,979
Frederick County	3,553	65.60%	1,799	33.22%	16	0.30%	22	0.41%	26	0.48%			1,754	32.39%	5,416
Giles County	2,036	42.51%	2,660	55.54%	59	1.23%	25	0.52%	9	0.19%			-624	-13.03%	4,789
Gloucester County	1,599	52.27%	1,384	45.24%	58	1.90%	17	0.56%	1	0.03%			215	7.03%	3,059
Goochland County	1,023	38.37%	1,578	59.19%	28	1.05%	26	0.98%	9	0.34%	2	0.08%	-555	-20.82%	2,666
Grayson County	2,957	54.58%	2,442	45.07%	10	0.18%	6	0.11%	3	0.06%			515	9.51%	5,418
Greene County	699	59.90%	455	38.99%	4	0.34%	7	0.60%	2	0.17%			244	20.91%	1,167
Greensville County	803	39.38%	1,159	56.84%	46	2.26%	25	1.23%	6	0.29%			-356	-17.46%	2,039
Halifax County	2,361	45.38%	2,732	52.51%	30	0.58%	71	1.36%	9	0.17%			-371	-7.13%	5,203
Hanover County	4,593	61.87%	2,623	35.33%	138	1.86%	63	0.85%	7	0.09%			1,970	26.54%	7,424
Henrico County	25,779	65.78%	12,579	32.10%	625	1.59%	193	0.49%	8	0.02%	6	0.02%	13,200	33.68%	39,190
Henry County	3,139	44.98%	3,739	53.58%	23	0.33%	62	0.89%	16	0.23%			-600	-8.60%	6,979
Highland County	498	62.09%	301	37.53%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	3	0.37%			197	24.56%	802
Isle of Wight County	2,199	56.11%	1,576	40.21%	75	1.91%	59	1.51%	10	0.26%			623	15.90%	3,919
James City County	1,416	48.51%	1,431	49.02%	46	1.58%	23	0.79%	3	0.10%			-15	-0.51%	2,919
King and Queen County	497	38.17%	766	58.83%	30	2.30%	5	0.38%	4	0.31%			-269	-20.66%	1,302
King George County	771	51.92%	702	47.27%	5	0.34%	7	0.47%	0	0.00%			69	4.65%	1,485
King William County	884	46.36%	979	51.34%	35	1.84%	5	0.26%	4	0.21%			-95	-4.98%	1,907
Lancaster County	1,382	49.84%	1,352	48.76%	21	0.76%	17	0.61%	1	0.04%			30	1.08%	2,773
Lee County	3,875	46.14%	4,455	53.05%	31	0.37%	18	0.21%	19	0.23%			-580	-6.91%	8,398
Loudoun County	3,190	46.49%	3,621	52.77%	11	0.16%	36	0.52%	4	0.06%			-431	-6.28%	6,862
Louisa County	1,303	49.43%	1,260	47.80%	42	1.59%	29	1.10%	2	0.08%			43	1.63%	2,636
Lunenburg County	1,221	47.14%	1,154	44.56%	101	3.90%	111	4.29%	3	0.12%			67	2.59%	2,590
Madison County	1,164	60.82%	725	37.88%	7	0.37%	17	0.89%	1	0.05%			439	22.94%	1,914
Mathews County	1,153	58.68%	784	39.90%	14	0.71%	9	0.46%	5	0.25%			369	18.78%	1,965
Mecklenburg County	2,480	40.91%	3,347	55.21%	96	1.58%	125	2.06%	14	0.23%			-867	-14.30%	6,062
Middlesex County	833	53.95%	669	43.33%	31	2.01%	10	0.65%	1	0.06%			164	10.62%	1,544
Montgomery County	5,107	61.68%	3,151	38.06%	11	0.13%	10	0.12%	1	0.01%			1,956	23.62%	8,280
Nansemond County	3,089	48.69%	3,084	48.61%	30	0.47%	135	2.13%	6	0.09%			5	0.08%	6,344
Nelson County	713	38.07%	1,116	59.58%	9	0.48%	32	1.71%	3	0.16%			-403	-21.52%	1,873
New Kent County	572	47.12%	593	48.85%	24	1.98%	25	2.06%	0	0.00%			-21	-1.73%	1,214
Northampton County	1,390	46.88%	1,541	51.97%	26	0.88%	8	0.27%	0	0.00%			-151	-5.09%	2,965
Northumberland County	1,172	53.71%	988	45.28%	14	0.64%	7	0.32%	1	0.05%			184	8.43%	2,182
Nottoway County	1,551	46.24%	1,680	50.09%	85	2.53%	33	0.98%	5	0.15%			-129	-3.85%	3,354
Orange County	1,529	57.39%	1,095	41.10%	20	0.75%	19	0.71%	1	0.04%			434	16.29%	2,664
Page County	2,682	53.43%	2,306	45.94%	20	0.40%	8	0.16%	4	0.08%			376	7.49%	5,020
Patrick County	1,759	46.44%	1,981	52.30%	9	0.24%	34	0.90%	5	0.13%			-222	-5.86%	3,788
Pittsylvania County	4,215	43.90%	5,250	54.68%	28	0.29%	80	0.83%	29	0.30%			-1,035	-10.78%	9,602
Powhatan County	912	41.91%	1,121	51.52%	48	2.21%	91	4.18%	4	0.18%			-209	-9.60%	2,176
Prince Edward County	1,783	48.24%	1,840	49.78%	37	1.00%	31	0.84%	5	0.14%			-57	-1.54%	3,696
Prince George County	1,249	46.66%	1,350	50.43%	55	2.05%	22	0.82%	1	0.04%			-101	-3.77%	2,677
Prince William County	6,004	52.65%	5,246	46.01%	21	0.18%	115	1.01%	17	0.15%			758	6.65%	11,403
Pulaski County	3,562	50.91%	3,399	48.58%	8	0.11%	21	0.30%	6	0.09%			163	2.33%	6,996
Rappahannock County	596	45.95%	688	53.05%	5	0.39%	6	0.46%	2	0.15%			-92	-7.09%	1,297
Richmond County	831	59.15%	559	39.79%	10	0.71%	5	0.36%	0	0.00%			272	19.36%	1,405
Roanoke County	12,124	64.12%	6,562	34.70%	22	0.12%	188	0.99%	11	0.06%	1	0.01%	5,562	29.42%	18,908
Rockbridge County	1,450	59.55%	957	39.30%	8	0.33%	16	0.66%	4	0.16%			493	20.25%	2,435
Rockingham County	5,481	67.92%	2,545	31.54%	19	0.24%	16	0.20%	9	0.11%			2,936	36.38%	8,070
Russell County	3,261	47.77%	3,438	50.36%	98	1.44%	17	0.25%	13	0.19%			-177	-2.59%	6,827
Scott County	3,869	54.19%	3,189	44.66%	24	0.34%	20	0.28%	38	0.53%			680	9.52%	7,140
Shenandoah County	4,528	66.20%	2,282	33.36%	13	0.19%	11	0.16%	6	0.09%			2,246	32.84%	6,840
Smyth County	4,212	58.23%	2,988	41.31%	8	0.11%	15	0.21%	10	0.14%			1,224	16.92%	7,233
Southampton County	1,393	40.55%	1,963	57.15%	46	1.34%	27	0.79%	6	0.17%			-570	-16.59%	3,435
Spotsylvania County	1,669	41.58%	2,153	53.64%	138	3.44%	24	0.60%	30	0.75%			-484	-12.06%	4,014
Stafford County	2,354	51.20%	2,212	48.11%	13	0.28%	3	0.07%	16	0.35%			142	3.09%	4,598
Surry County	556	33.72%	1,061	64.34%	16	0.97%	12	0.73%	4	0.24%			-505	-30.62%	1,649
Sussex County	1,577	53.40%	1,269	42.97%	42	1.42%	64	2.17%	1	0.03%			308	10.43%	2,953
Tazewell County	3,612	45.62%	4,186	52.87%	69	0.87%	23	0.29%	27	0.34%			-574	-7.25%	7,917
Warren County	2,102	50.76%	1,977	47.74%	25	0.60%	28	0.68%	9	0.22%			125	3.02%	4,141
Washington County	4,680	52.74%	4,138	46.64%	20	0.23%	23	0.26%	12	0.14%			542	6.11%	8,873
Westmoreland County	1,036	49.45%	1,040	49.64%	8	0.38%	10	0.48%	1	0.05%			-4	-0.19%	2,095
Wise County	5,149	46.14%	5,982	53.60%	12	0.11%	9	0.08%	8	0.07%			-833	-7.46%	11,160
Wythe County	2,810	51.80%	2,492	45.94%	104	1.92%	14	0.26%	5	0.09%			318	5.86%	5,425
York County	3,353	55.56%	2,543	42.14%	59	0.98%	64	1.06%	16	0.27%			810	13.42%	6,035
Alexandria City	8,987	50.52%	8,589	48.29%	62	0.35%	132	0.74%	18	0.10%			398	2.24%	17,788
Bedford City	689	43.64%	763	48.32%	55	3.48%	70	4.43%	2	0.13%			-74	-4.69%	1,579
Bristol City	1,113	38.71%	1,750	60.87%	1	0.03%	5	0.17%	6	0.21%			-637	-22.16%	2,875
Buena Vista City	636	52.82%	554	46.01%	4	0.33%	6	0.50%	4	0.33%			82	6.81%	1,204
Charlottesville City	3,826	44.13%	4,745	54.74%	40	0.46%	53	0.61%	4	0.05%	1	0.01%	-919	-10.60%	8,669
Chesapeake City	8,158	47.53%	8,214	47.86%	431	2.51%	318	1.85%	42	0.24%	1	0.01%	-56	-0.33%	17,164
Clifton Forge City	734	49.39%	720	48.45%	6	0.40%	25	1.68%	1	0.07%			14	0.94%	1,486
Colonial Heights City	1,923	53.85%	1,552	43.46%	61	1.71%	35	0.98%	0	0.00%			371	10.39%	3,571
Covington City	1,230	47.99%	1,309	51.07%	4	0.16%	16	0.62%	4	0.16%			-79	-3.08%	2,563
Danville City	5,040	46.11%	5,720	52.33%	100	0.91%	63	0.58%	7	0.06%			-680	-6.22%	10,930
Emporia City	713	45.97%	796	51.32%	20	1.29%	21	1.35%	0	0.00%	1	0.06%	-83	-5.35%	1,551
Fairfax City	1,872	51.68%	1,679	46.36%	28	0.77%	38	1.05%	5	0.14%			193	5.33%	3,622
Falls Church City	1,370	49.16%	1,393	49.98%	11	0.39%	12	0.43%	1	0.04%			-23	-0.83%	2,787
Franklin City	813	52.42%	720	46.42%	9	0.58%	6	0.39%	3	0.19%			93	6.00%	1,551
Fredericksburg City	1,748	42.60%	2,332	56.84%	9	0.22%	8	0.19%	6	0.15%			-584	-14.23%	4,103
Galax City	943	50.56%	911	48.85%	2	0.11%	7	0.38%	2	0.11%			32	1.72%	1,865
Hampton City	10,765	53.95%	8,946	44.83%	96	0.48%	120	0.60%	25	0.13%	2	0.01%	1,819	9.12%	19,954
Harrisonburg City	2,018	61.52%	1,251	38.14%	3	0.09%	7	0.21%	1	0.03%			767	23.38%	3,280
Hopewell City	2,214	49.64%	1,905	42.71%	303	6.79%	32	0.72%	6	0.13%			309	6.93%	4,460
Lexington City	817	58.11%	581	41.32%	1	0.07%	7	0.50%	0	0.00%			236	16.79%	1,406
Lynchburg City	5,694	54.50%	4,158	39.80%	341	3.26%	238	2.28%	17	0.16%			1,536	14.70%	10,448
Martinsville City	1,902	43.04%	2,482	56.17%	9	0.20%	22	0.50%	4	0.09%			-580	-13.13%	4,419
Newport News City	11,678	51.05%	10,776	47.11%	131	0.57%	258	1.13%	33	0.14%			902	3.94%	22,876
Norfolk City	20,311	45.15%	22,617	50.27%	1,795	3.99%	195	0.43%	57	0.13%	14	0.03%	-2,306	-5.13%	44,989
Norton City	477	47.75%	517	51.75%	2	0.20%	2	0.20%	1	0.10%			-40	-4.00%	999
Petersburg City	3,147	43.62%	3,896	54.01%	96	1.33%	48	0.67%	23	0.32%	4	0.06%	-749	-10.38%	7,214
Portsmouth City	9,638	40.61%	13,783	58.08%	122	0.51%	139	0.59%	49	0.21%			-4,145	-17.47%	23,731
Radford City	1,681	53.76%	1,436	45.92%	2	0.06%	7	0.22%	1	0.03%			245	7.83%	3,127
Richmond City	27,611	59.09%	18,377	39.33%	503	1.08%	197	0.42%	32	0.07%	4	0.01%	9,234	19.76%	46,724
Roanoke City	13,238	56.77%	9,860	42.28%	42	0.18%	165	0.71%	15	0.06%			3,378	14.49%	23,320
Salem City	3,356	64.66%	1,807	34.82%	4	0.08%	18	0.35%	3	0.06%	2	0.04%	1,549	29.85%	5,190
South Boston City	930	50.74%	894	48.77%	2	0.11%	7	0.38%	0	0.00%			36	1.96%	1,833
Staunton City	3,297	61.42%	2,051	38.21%	10	0.19%	9	0.17%	1	0.02%			1,246	23.21%	5,368
Suffolk City	1,183	49.17%	1,177	48.92%	6	0.25%	35	1.45%	5	0.21%			6	0.25%	2,406
Virginia Beach City	14,086	56.37%	10,210	40.86%	555	2.22%	119	0.48%	18	0.07%			3,876	15.51%	24,988
Waynesboro City	2,713	62.43%	1,587	36.52%	37	0.85%	6	0.14%	3	0.07%			1,126	25.91%	4,346
Williamsburg City	804	46.15%	884	50.75%	44	2.53%	10	0.57%	0	0.00%			-80	-4.59%	1,742
Winchester City	1,915	58.90%	1,318	40.54%	6	0.18%	5	0.15%	7	0.22%			597	18.36%	3,251
Totals	480,869	52.44%	415,695	45.34%	10,596	1.16%	7,382	0.81%	1,182	0.13%	1,182	0.13%	65,174	7.11%	916,906

References

1. "Virginia, N.J. Elect GOP Governors". The Charlotte Observer. Associated Press. November 5, 1969. p. 2A.
2. "1969 Virginia gubernatorial election - D Primary". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
3. "1969 Virginia gubernatorial election - D Runoff". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
4. "Conservative Party Nominates McDowell". The Daily News Leader . Staunton, Virginia. March 24, 1969. p. 3.
5. "'Man of Experience'". Letters to the Editor. The Roanoke Times. November 1, 1969. p. 6.
6. "Holton, Battle Promise Opposition to Secrecy". Daily Press . Newport News. October 6, 1969. p. 15.
7. Hunter, Jack R. (Spring 1972). Linwood Holton's long quest for the governorship of Virginia and its impact on the growth of the Republican Party (Masters thesis). University of Richmond.
8. "VA Governor November 04, 1969". Our Campaigns.