The Defeat of Representative Howard W. Smith of Virginia

The purpose of this paper is to suggest plausible reasons for the end of Smith's congressional tenure by using newspaper articles, statistical data supplied by the State Board of Elections in Richmond and the Census Bureau, interviews with leading state politicians of the time, and letters contained in the Howard W. Smith Papers. Each relevant primary and general election since 1960 will be examined chronologically, shifting back and forth between Assembly and congressional campaigns. Through an analysis of the political issues, election campaigns, and voting patterns in the Eighth Congressional District, considerable light will be shed on the nature and sources of the rising tide of opposition to Representative Smith. This tide reached floodstage on July 12, 1966.

Digitization of this thesis was made possible by a generous grant from the Jefferson Trust, 2015.