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1969 promises to be a turning point in the political history of Virginia. The Old Dominion has become an urban state. The rural conservatism which has characterized her past politics is rapidly becoming an institution of the past. Virginia’s politics tend to increasingly reflect national, rather than southern, patterns of thought. In short, V. O. Key’s 1949 claim that “Virginia, more than any other state, can lay claim to a thorough control by the oligarchy” is now obsolete. Whether or not that era was good or bad is no longer the question. On July 15 Virginia’s Democrats will go to the polls and select their nominee for governor. The choice they make may well determine the course ol the Democratic Party in Virginia for years to come. There are three candidates for the Democratic nomination. The purpose of this article is to acquaint the reader with the candidates lives and their politics.
* * * * Henry Howell
Henry Howell, age 48, is presently a State Senator frorr Norfolk, Virginia. As a lifetime resident of the Old Dominion, he has been affiliated with the anti-establishment wing of the Democratic Party throughout his political career.
F or all practical purposes Howell’s political career began ir 1949, when he campaigned for Francis Pickens Miller for governor. From there he went or to a seat in the House oi Delegates and later to election as State Senator from Norfolk Throughout this time his identification with the liberal wing of the Democratic Party was beyond reproach. . In the context of Virginia’s ‘politics Henry Howell’s campaigr for governor is a phenomenon His brash campaign style conflicts sharply with the soft-spoker image usually associated with Virginia politicians. Howell’s campaign for governor seems tc reflect a neo-populist style. His slogan of “keep the big boys honest” has an appeal to both urban liberals and the Wallace voter. In short, Howell’s strategy is to unite labor, Negroes, urban liberals and even Wallace voters in a miniature Roosevelt coalition. Whether such a strategy can be successful in Virginia, where neither populism or liberalism
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