The 1966 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 8, 1966. Senator

A. Willis Robertson Absalom Willis Robertson (May 27, 1887 – November 1, 1971) was an American politician from Virginia who served in public office for over 50 years. A member of the Democratic Party and lukewarm ally of the Byrd Organization led by fellow U.S. Se ...

ran for re-election to a fourth term in office but was defeated in the Democratic primary by State Senator

William B. Spong Jr. William Belser Spong Jr. (September 29, 1920October 8, 1997) was an American Democratic Party politician and a United States Senator who represented the state of Virginia from 1966 to 1973. Biography Early life and education Spong was born in P ...

Spong then defeated Republican James Ould and Independent F. Lee Hawthorne in the general election. This was the last time a Democrat won the Class II senate seat from Virginia until 2008. The election was held on the same day as a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

for Virginia's other United States Senate seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, incumbent Senator since 1946 *

, State Senator from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Campaign

Senator Robertson had long been one of the most conservative members of the Democratic Party and had opposed most civil rights legislation. To secure his defeat, President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

personally recruited State Senator

, a much more liberal member of the party, to challenge Robertson in the Democratic primary. Spong relied on support from newly enfranchised Black voters and former Byrd Democrats who had given up resistance to racial integration.

Results

Spong's extremely narrow 611-vote victory was received as a major upset and heralded an end to the conservative

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

's dominance in the Virginia Democratic Party.

General election

Results

References

External links

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1966 Virginia elections {{Virginia-election-stub

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

General election

Results

See also

References

External links