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Wilder patiently responded to that question each time it was raised. What was really on his mind, he said, was winning the lieutenant governorship of Virginia. Seriously, fellows. No kidding.
Even as Wilder set out upon one of the most innovative and determined campaigns in the history of the state, the doubts persisted. Some, with considerable justification, called his strategy for winning the lieutenant governorship brilliant even before the polls in the closing weeks began to indicate the unthinkable — that he might conceivably win.
That possibility seemed unthinkable because, in spite of Wilder’s unquestioned credentials for the office, it appeared beyond belief that conservative Virginia would elect a black person to the second highest post in the commonwealth.
Yet on election night, Wilder rolled up an impressive victory of 52 to 48 percent over GOP state Sen. John H. Chichester of Stafford. The victory stunned the already reeling Republican Party which had just seen its candidates for governor and attorney general go down in crushing defeats.
Yet Wilder’s victory was only slightly more remarkable than another historic first on that election night. Democratic Del. Mary Sue Terry of Patrick became the first woman to win statewide office in Virginia by scoring a landslide triumph over GOP Del. W. R. “Buster” O’Brien of Virginia Beach.
While early on a number of skeptics had questions about her electability, when the count was in she had polled more votes than any other candidate, including Democratic gubernatorial winner Gerald L. Baliles.
The victories of Wilder and Terry can only be considered watershed events of the first order in the history of the commonwealth. The reasons for the stunning Democratic sweep must await a later discussion, but some of its results are already fairly clear.
Two important precedents have been set. Wilder and Terry have proved that a black or a woman who campaigns within the mainstream of Virginia’s moderate to conservative political thought can be elected.
They have proved that the electorate will no longer buy the Hallowe’en antics of the Republicans and independent conservatives who were convinced that if they howled the word “liberal” often enough and chanted the names of McGovern, Mondale, Carter and Howell loud
94.9%