1965 Virginia gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1965 United States gubernatorial elections.

1965 Virginia gubernatorial election

November 2, 1965

Nominee Mills Godwin Linwood Holton William J. Story Jr. Party Democratic Republican Conservative Popular vote 269,526 212,207 75,307 Percentage 47.9% 37.7% 13.4%

County and independent city results Godwin:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Holton:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Story:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election Albertis Harrison Democratic Elected Governor Mills Godwin Democratic

In the 1965 Virginia gubernatorial election, incumbent Governor Albertis Harrison, a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Linwood Holton, an attorney from Roanoke, was nominated by the Republican Party to run against Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Mills Godwin.

George Lincoln Rockwell, an avowed White Supremacist and founder/leader of the American Nazi Party, ran as an independent candidate.

Candidates

• Mills E. Godwin, Jr., Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (D)
• A. Linwood Holton, Jr., attorney from Roanoke (R)
• William J. Story, Jr., assistant superintendent of Chesapeake City Public Schools (C)
• George Lincoln Rockwell, Independent

Results

Virginia gubernatorial election, 1965

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mills E. Godwin Jr.	296,526	47.89%	−15.96%
	Republican	A. Linwood Holton Jr.	212,207	37.71%	+1.56%
	Conservative	William J. Story Jr.	75,307	13.38%	+13.38%
	Independent	George Lincoln Rockwell	5,730	1.02%
	Write-ins		19	<0.01%
Majority			84,319	14.98%	−12.73%
Turnout			562,789
	Democratic hold		Swing

Godwin won the election with a plurality over Holton and Story. Story's strength mainly came at the expense of the Democrats as counties that had been won by Democrats with 60-70% shrank to 40-50% in Eastern Virginia. Story ran best in the Piedmont region of the state, while Holton ran best near the Appalachian counties in the state.

County/City	Mills E. Godwin, Jr		Linwood Holton		William J. Story		George L. Rockwell		Total Votes Cast
	Votes	Percent	Votes	Percent	Votes	Percent	Votes	Percent
ACCOMACK COUNTY	2,284	65.7%	892	25.6%	255	7.3%	47	1.4%	3,478
ALBEMARLE COUNTY	2,108	51.3%	1,495	36.4%	438	10.7%	66	1.6%	4,108
ALEXANDRIA CITY	5,077	47.2%	5,269	49.0%	283	2.6%	122	1.1%	10,752
ALLEGHANY COUNTY	903	55.7%	583	35.9%	110	6.8%	26	1.6%	1,622
AMELIA COUNTY	627	2.8%	156	16.2%	762	79.2%	17	1.8%	1,562
AMHERST COUNTY	1,553	52.2%	629	21.0%	759	25.3%	45	1.5%	2,986
APPOMATTOX COUNTY	1,216	59.4%	247	12.1%	559	27.3%	24	1.2%	2,046
ARLINGTON COUNTY	11,193	36.0%	13,079	58.1%	1,026	3.3%	303	2.6%	25,601
AUGUSTA COUNTY	2,503	44.0%	2,914	51.2%	211	3.7%	67	1.2%	5,695
BATH COUNTY	411	57.3%	248	34.6%	51	7.1%	7	1.0%	717
BEDFORD COUNTY	2,053	45.2%	1,513	33.3%	847	18.7%	128	2.8%	4,541
BLAND COUNTY	542	53.8%	410	40.7%	39	3.9%	16	1.6%	1,007
BOTETOURT COUNTY	1,143	35.8%	1,367	58.4%	169	5.3%	18	0.6%	2,697
BRISTOL CITY	1,156	61.5%	710	37.7%	12	0.6%	3	0.2%	1,881
BRUNSWICK COUNTY	672	25.3%	518	19.5%	1,447	54.5%	19	0.7%	2,656
BUCHANAN COUNTY	2,776	61.5%	1,557	34.5%	56	1.2%	128	2.8%	4,517
BUCKINGHAM COUNTY	1,013	68.8%	205	13.9%	248	16.8%	9	0.6%	1,475
BUENA VISTA CITY	501	36.5%	310	59.0%	57	4.2%	5	0.4%	873
CAMPBELL COUNTY	1,662	39.4%	1,267	30.1%	1,194	28.3%	92	2.2%	4,215
CAROLINE COUNTY	835	53.6%	225	14.5%	493	31.7%	4	0.3%	1,557
CARROLL COUNTY	1,439	32.2%	2,895	64.7%	92	2.1%	46	1.0%	4,472
CHARLES CITY COUNTY	598	78.0%	88	11.5%	77	10.0%	4	0.5%	767
CHARLOTTE COUNTY	661	37.3%	238	13.4%	851	48.0%	23	1.3%	1,773
CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY	2,705	50.3%	1,997	37.1%	613	11.4%	56	1.2%	5,371
CHESAPEAKE CITY	5,124	47.8%	2,124	19.8%	3,353	31.3%	114	1.1%	10,715
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY	4,314	29.4%	4,634	31.6%	5,656	38.6%	67	0.5%	14,671
CLARKE COUNTY	608	67.6%	255	28.3%	20	2.2%	17	1.9%	900
CLIFTON FORGE CITY	761	56.2%	483	35.7%	95	7.0%	14	1.0%	1,353
COLONIAL HEIGHTS CITY	1,088	42.8%	604	23.7%	833	32.7%	20	0.8%	2,545
COVINGTON CITY	1,273	61.4%	669	32.3%	101	4.9%	29	1.4%	2,072
CRAIG COUNTY	482	58.7%	319	38.9%	19	2.3%	1	0.1%	821
CULPEPER COUNTY	1,454	68.4%	552	26.0%	80	3.8%	41	1.9%	2,127
CUMBERLAND COUNTY	591	50.0%	110	9.3%	477	40.3%	5	0.4%	1,183
DANVILLE CITY	2,420	45.1%	1,247	23.2%	1,651	30.8%	50	0.9%	5,368
DICKENSON COUNTY	1,369	53.1%	1,153	44.7%	21	0.8%	36	1.4%	2,579
DINWIDDIE COUNTY	1,313	54.3%	267	11.0%	826	34.0%	13	0.7%	2,419
ESSEX COUNTY	331	43.3%	142	18.6%	290	38.0%	1	0.1%	764
FAIRFAX COUNTY	16,974	42.7%	20,917	52.6%	1,055	2.7%	346	2.1%	39,293
FAIRFAX CITY	1,006	49.1%	962	46.9%	67	3.3%	15	0.7%	2,050
FALLS CHURCH CITY	980	45.7%	1,090	50.9%	54	2.5%	19	0.9%	2,143
FAUQUIER COUNTY	1,850	67.6%	809	29.6%	55	2.0%	21	0.8%	2,735
FLOYD COUNTY	623	32.0%	1,261	64.9%	48	2.5%	12	0.6%	1,944
FLUVANNA COUNTY	441	46.5%	195	20.6%	300	31.6%	12	1.3%	948
FRANKLIN COUNTY	2,298	53.1%	1,654	38.2%	283	6.5%	90	2.1%	4,325
FRANKLIN CITY	838	59.4%	246	17.4%	317	22.5%	9	0.6%	1,410
FREDERICK COUNTY	1,168	56.3%	827	39.9%	57	2.7%	22	1.1%	2,074
FREDERICKSBURG CITY	1,584	58.9%	962	35.7%	104	3.9%	41	1.5%	2,691
GALAX CITY	634	49.6%	592	46.4%	47	3.7%	4	0.3%	1,277
GILES COUNTY	1,606	44.6%	1,348	51.3%	134	3.7%	16	0.4%	3,104
GLOUCESTER COUNTY	936	53.9%	485	28.0%	299	17.2%	15	0.9%	1,735
GOOCHLAND COUNTY	859	51.2%	251	15.0%	557	33.2%	11	0.7%	1,678
GRAYSON COUNTY	2,209	48.5%	2,240	49.2%	81	1.8%	26	0.6%	4,556
GREENE COUNTY	305	39.7%	370	48.1%	57	7.4%	37	4.8%	769
GREENSVILLE COUNTY	1,068	28.3%	1,441	38.2%	1,182	31.4%	78	2.1%	3,769
HALIFAX COUNTY	1,578	45.5%	954	27.5%	852	24.6%	83	2.4%	3,467
HAMPTON CITY	5,205	51.8%	4,025	40.1%	724	7.2%	92	0.9%	10,046
HANOVER COUNTY	1,636	40.8%	1,235	30.8%	1,099	27.4%	42	1.0%	4,012
HARRISONBURG CITY	1,122	46.1%	1,245	51.2%	50	2.1%	15	0.7%	2,432
HENRICO COUNTY	8,311	35.9%	8,814	38.1%	5,875	25.4%	137	0.6%	23,144
HENRY COUNTY	1,879	53.3%	1,229	34.9%	359	10.2%	58	1.6%	3,525
HIGHLAND COUNTY	329	44.3%	381	51.3%	22	3.0%	10	1.3%	742
HOPEWELL CITY	2,262	55.6%	1,109	27.2%	551	16.0%	49	1.2%	3,971
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY	1,592	63.8%	511	20.5%	382	15.3%	12	0.5%	2,497
JAMES CITY COUNTY	607	49.4%	439	35.7%	151	13.1%	21	1.7%	1,218
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY	328	52.4%	91	14.5%	187	29.9%	20	3.2%	626
KING GEORGE COUNTY	595	64.2%	278	30.0%	37	4.0%	17	1.8%	927
KING WILLIAM COUNTY	630	55.3%	202	17.7%	308	27.0%	9	0.0%	1,149
LANCASTER COUNTY	688	48.7%	450	31.8%	261	18.5%	15	1.1%	1,414
LEE COUNTY	2,583	67.5%	1,118	29.2%	33	1.0%	86	2.2%	3,820
LOUDOUN COUNTY	1,847	58.4%	1,171	37.0%	87	2.8%	53	1.7%	3,162
LOUISA COUNTY	890	46.9%	307	16.2%	572	35.4%	27	1.4%	1,797
LUNENBURG COUNTY	993	40.6%	200	8.2%	1,247	51.0%	7	0.3%	2,447
LYNCHBURG CITY	3,864	64.1%	3,422	24.8%	1,422	10.3%	112	0.8%	8,821
MADISON COUNTY	500	50.2%	376	37.7%	97	9.7%	24	2.4%	997
MARTINSVILLE CITY	1,581	51.9%	1,168	38.4%	257	8.8%	28	0.9%	3,034
MATHEWS COUNTY	780	54.5%	482	33.7%	159	11.1%	11	0.8%	1,432
MECKLENBURG COUNTY	1,439	39.0%	663	18.0%	1,549	42.0%	36	1.0%	3,687
MIDDLESEX COUNTY	541	51.7%	193	18.4%	299	28.6%	14	1.3%	1,047
MONTGOMERY COUNTY	2,196	38.1%	3,263	56.6%	269	4.7%	42	0.7%	5,770
NANSEMOND COUNTY	3,441	71.9%	697	14.6%	628	13.1%	20	0.4%	4,786
NELSON COUNTY	793	64.7%	227	18.5%	121	9.9%	34	6.9%	1,176
NEW KENT COUNTY	314	41.5%	188	24.8%	250	33.0%	5	0.7%	757
NEWPORT NEWS CITY	7,264	56.3%	4,405	34.1%	1,059	8.3%	174	1.3%	12,902
NORFOLK CITY	12,419	51.6%	7,315	32.5%	3,663	15.2%	150	0.6%	23,547
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY	958	56.6%	492	29.1%	237	14.0%	5	0.3%	1,692
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY	549	47.9%	394	34.4%	197	17.2%	7	0.6%	1,147
NORTON CITY	343	48.8%	355	50.5%	1	0.1%	4	0.6%	703
NOTTOWAY COUNTY	1,054	33.6%	178	5.7%	1,391	60.2%	18	0.6%	2,641
ORANGE COUNTY	892	54.6%	490	30.0%	228	14.0%	24	1.5%	1,634
PAGE COUNTY	1,992	45.5%	2,250	51.3%	75	1.7%	65	1.5%	4,382
PATRICK COUNTY	935	60.2%	550	35.4%	57	3.7%	12	0.8%	1,554
PETERSBURG CITY	2,790	58.7%	897	18.9%	1,047	22.0%	17	0.4%	4,751
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY	2,334	45.2%	1,033	21.0%	1,644	31.9%	98	1.9%	5,109
PORTSMOUTH CITY	7,206	60.3%	2,639	22.1%	1,997	16.7%	112	0.9%	11,954
POWHATAN COUNTY	546	41.7%	125	9.6%	636	48.6%	1	0.1%	1,308
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY	1,085	42.0%	236	9.1%	1,242	48.1%	18	0.7%	2,581
PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY	1,169	52.3%	490	21.9%	564	25.2%	14	0.6%	2,237
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY	2,392	61.4%	1,364	35.0%	81	2.1%	57	1.5%	3,894
PULASKI COUNTY	1,865	49.3%	1,669	44.1%	224	5.9%	26	0.7%	3,784
RADFORD CITY	1,307	47.4%	1,335	48.4%	97	3.5%	17	0.6%	2,756
RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY	355	65.3%	173	31.8%	8	1.5%	8	1.5%	544
RICHMOND COUNTY	328	49.2%	197	29.6%	132	19.8%	9	1.4%	666
RICHMOND CITY	18,032	55.3%	8,798	27.0%	5,613	17.2%	180	0.6%	32,623
ROANOKE COUNTY	3,470	31.4%	7,032	63.6%	492	4.4%	70	0.6%	11,064
ROANOKE CITY	5,888	35.1%	9,947	59.3%	816	4.9%	114	0.7%	16,766
ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY	1,206	43.8%	1,309	47.5%	223	8.1%	18	0.7%	2,756
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY	2,302	40.8%	3,089	54.7%	189	3.3%	64	1.1%	5,644
RUSSELL COUNTY	1,797	45.2%	2,064	51.9%	75	1.9%	44	1.1%	3,980
SCOTT COUNTY	1,909	37.4%	3,032	59.4%	76	1.5%	88	1.7%	5,105
SHENANDOAH COUNTY	1,900	38.2%	2,896	58.3%	122	2.5%	52	1.0%	4,970
SMYTH COUNTY	1,843	41.7%	2,467	55.8%	72	1.6%	40	0.9%	4,422
S. BOSTON CITY	490	31.7%	323	53.2%	224	14.5%	9	0.6%	1,046
SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY	1,284	45.1%	289	10.2%	1,262	44.3%	11	0.4%	2,846
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY	1,326	58.0%	586	30.0%	169	7.4%	104	4.6%	2,185
STAFFORD COUNTY	1,719	55.1%	1,117	35.8%	97	3.1%	138	6.0%	3,071
STAUNTON CITY	2,062	50.5%	1,804	44.2%	173	4.2%	43	1.1%	4,082
SUFFOLK CITY	1,453	71.1%	382	18.7%	204	10.0%	5	0.2%	2,045
SURRY COUNTY	472	27.6%	606	35.4%	623	36.4%	9	0.5%	1,710
SUSSEX COUNTY	931	35.1%	584	22.0%	1,130	42.6%	9	0.3%	2,654
TAZEWELL COUNTY	2,736	54.0%	2,153	42.5%	111	2.2%	57	1.3%	5,057
VIRGINIA BEACH CITY	6,224	37.9%	3,718	53.0%	1,445	8.8%	48	0.3%	11,435
WARREN COUNTY	1,490	58.8%	903	35.6%	109	4.3%	33	1.3%	2,535
WASHINGTON COUNTY	2,642	48.0%	2,772	50.4%	40	0.7%	48	0.9%	5,502
WAYNESBORO CITY	1,275	43.8%	1,499	51.5%	116	4.0%	21	0.7%	2,911
WESTMORELAND COUNTY	509	53.7%	314	33.1%	108	11.4%	17	1.8%	948
WILLIAMSBURG CITY	479	45.4%	483	45.8%	85	8.1%	8	0.8%	1,055
WINCHESTER CITY	1,100	59.9%	675	36.8%	49	2.7%	12	0.7%	1,836
WISE COUNTY	3,175	78.6%	2,186	21.0%	15	0.1%	23	0.2%	5,399
WYTHE COUNTY	1,932	48.2%	1,844	46.0%	186	4.6%	43	1.1%	4,005
YORK COUNTY	1,435	46.9%	1,289	42.1%	287	9.4%	50	1.6%	3,061
TOTALS	269,526	47.5%	212,207	38.3%	75,307	13.0%	5,730	1.2%	562,789