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 County and independent city results Harrison: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Pearson: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Virginia |
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In the 1961 Virginia gubernatorial election, incumbent Governor J. Lindsay Almond, a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. H. Clyde Pearson was nominated by the Republican Party to run against former Democratic Attorney General of Virginia Albertis Harrison.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Albertis S. Harrison, Jr. | 251,861 | 63.85% | +0.69% | |
| Republican | H. Clyde Pearson | 142,567 | 36.15% | -0.29% | |
| Majority | 109,294 | 27.71% | +0.99% | ||
| Turnout | 394,428 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
James Lindsay Almond Jr. was an American lawyer, state and federal judge and Democratic party politician. His political offices included as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 6th congressional district (1946-1948), 26th Attorney General of Virginia (1948-1957) and the 58th Governor of Virginia (1958-1962). As a member of the Byrd Organization, Almond initially supported massive resistance to the integration of public schools following the United States Supreme Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education, but when Virginia and federal courts ruled segregation unconstitutional, Almond worked with the legislature to end massive resistance.
The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readjusters aspired "to break the power of wealth and established privilege" among the planter elite of whites in the state and to promote public education. The party's program attracted support among both white people and African-Americans.
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The 1989 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1989. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jerry Baliles was unable to seek a second term due to term limits. Democratic nominee and Lieutenant Governor L. Douglas Wilder went against former Attorney General of Virginia J. Marshall Coleman in one of the closest elections in Virginia history. Upon taking the oath of office in January 1990, Governor Wilder became the first African-American governor of Virginia, and the first African-American governor of any state since Reconstruction more than one hundred years earlier.
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The Commission on Public Education, known as the VPEC or Gray Commission, was a 32-member commission established by Governor of Virginia Thomas B. Stanley on August 23, 1954 to study the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education issued on May 17, 1954 and May 31, 1955, and to make recommendations. Its counsel were David J. Mays and his associate Henry T. Wickham.
The 2017 Virginia Attorney General election was held on November 7, 2017. The incumbent attorney general, Democrat Mark Herring, was expected to run for governor, but announced he would run for re-election instead. As only Herring and Republican John Adams qualified for their respective party primaries, the two automatically became their parties' nominees. In the general election, Herring defeated Adams to win a second term as Attorney General of Virginia. This is the last time that a Democrat was elected Attorney General of Virginia.
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The 1932 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932. Democratic nominee Clarence D. Martin defeated Republican nominee John Arthur Gellatly with 57.29% of the vote.
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