1973 United States gubernatorial elections

* * *

| ← 1972 | November 6, 1973 | 1974 →

|
|

* * *

2 governorships
|   | Majority party  | Minority party

|
|

|  |
Party  | Democratic | Republican
Seats before  | 31 | 19
Seats after  | 32 | 18
Seat change  | 1  | 1
Seats up  | 0  | 2
Seats won  | 1  | 1

* * *

Republican hold

Democratic gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held 6 November 1973, in two states.

In Virginia, former Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., who was elected in the 1965 gubernatorial election as a Democrat,[1] ran and won as a Republican. He defeated Henry Howell, who was also a former Democrat.[2]

In New Jersey, the moderate incumbent Republican William T. Cahill was defeated in the primary by Charles W. Sandman Jr.[3] Cahill did not campaign for Sandman, and Brendan Byrne defeated Sandman handily.[4]

## Election results

[edit]

State  | Incumbent  | Party  | First
elected  | Result  | Candidates

|
|
|
|
|

New Jersey | William T. Cahill | Republican  | 1969 | Incumbent lost renomination.[5]
New governor elected.[6]Democratic gain |

* Y Brendan Byrne (Democratic) 66.40%
* Charles W. Sandman Jr. (Republican) 32.13%
* A. Howard Freund (American) 0.31%
* Alfred V. Colabella (Independent) 0.24%
* Robert Clement (Socialist Labor) 0.20%
* John A. Goodson (Libertarian) 0.15%
* James J. Terlizzi, Sr. (Independent Taxpayer's Watchdog) 0.13%

Virginia | Linwood Holton | Republican  | 1969 | Incumbent term-limited.[7]
New governor elected.
Republican hold  |

* Y Mills Godwin (Republican) 50.72%
* Henry Howell (Independent) 49.28%

## Closest races

[edit]

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. Virginia, 1.44%

## New Jersey

[edit]

1973 New Jersey gubernatorial election

* * *

| ← 1969 | November 6, 1973 | 1977 →

|
|

|   |  |

|
|

Nominee  | Brendan Byrne | Charles W. Sandman Jr. |
Party  | Democratic | Republican
Popular vote  | 1,414,613 | 676,235
Percentage  | 66.7% | 31.9%

* * *

County results

Congressional district results

Byrne:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Sandman:      60–70%

* * *

| Governor before election

William T. Cahill
Republican

| Elected Governor

Brendan Byrne
Democratic

|

The 1973 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1973. Incumbent Governor William T. Cahill ran for reelection, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Charles W. Sandman Jr. In the general election, Democratic nominee Brendan Byrne defeated Sandman with 66.67% of the vote.

## Virginia

[edit]

1973 Virginia gubernatorial election

* * *

| ← 1969 | November 6, 1973 | 1977 →

|
|

|   |  |

|
|

Nominee  | Mills Godwin | Henry Howell |
Party  | Republican | Independent
Popular vote  | 525,075 | 510,103
Percentage  | 50.7% | 49.3%

* * *

County and independent city results
Godwin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Howell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

* * *

| Governor before election

Linwood Holton
Republican

| Elected Governor

Mills Godwin
Republican

|

In the 1973 Virginia gubernatorial election, incumbent Governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr., a Republican, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Mills E. Godwin, Jr., former Democratic Governor of Virginia, was nominated by the Republican Party to run against Independent Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Henry Howell. The Democrats did not field a candidate, mostly choosing to support Howell's candidacy.

This was the last time until 2013 in which a member of the incumbent President's party was elected Governor of Virginia. It was also the last time a non-Democrat won the city of Alexandria.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "VA Governor". Retrieved July 5, 2012.
2. ^ "Godwin Narrowly Leads In Va. Governor's Race". November 7, 1973. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
3. ^ "Full of Grace – The governor from Camden Catholic High School". July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
4. ^ "Brendan Byrne Sweeps N.J. Governor's Contest". November 7, 1973. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
5. ^ "NJ Governor – R Primary". Retrieved July 4, 2012.
6. ^ "NJ Governor". Retrieved July 4, 2012.
7. ^ "VA Governor". Retrieved July 5, 2012.

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