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Linwood Holton

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Linwood Holton
Holton, circa 1970
13th United States Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
In office
February 28, 1974 – January 31, 1975
PresidentRichard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Preceded byMarshall Wright
Succeeded byRobert J. McCloskey
61st Governor of Virginia
In office
January 17, 1970 – January 12, 1974
LieutenantSargeant Reynolds
Henry Howell
Preceded byMills Godwin
Succeeded byMills Godwin
Personal details
Born
Abner Linwood Holton Jr.

(1923-09-21)September 21, 1923
Big Stone Gap, Virginia U.S.
DiedOctober 28, 2021(2021-10-28) (aged 98)
Kilmarnock, Virginia U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1953)​
Children4; including Anne, Woody, and Dwight
EducationWashington and Lee University (BS)
Harvard University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1942–1969
Rank Captain
Battles/warsWorld War II
Korean War

Abner Linwood Holton Jr. (September 21, 1923 – October 28, 2021) was an American politician and attorney. He served as the 61st governor of Virginia, from 1970 to 1974, and was the first elected Republican governor of Virginia of the 20th century.[1] He was known for supporting civil rights, integration, and public investment.[2]

Early life

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Abner Linwood Holton Jr. was born on September 21, 1923, in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, the son of Edith (Van Gorder), a homemaker, and Abner Linwood Holton,[3] the executive of a small coal-hauling railroad.[3][4] In his 2008 memoir, he wrote that could not remember a time as a youth when the goal of a Virginia governorship was not at the back of his mind.[5] At his Stone Gap High School reunion in 1990, a childhood friend joked that he had sought the governorship since the 4th grade.[2][5]

Holton entered Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, in 1941. After the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the United States Navy on July 4, 1942. He received a commission after graduating in 1944 with B.S. degree in commerce, cum laude,[2][6] and served on active duty submarine service throughout World War II and in the reserves for more than two decades afterwards. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1949.

Prior to entering politics, he was an attorney in Roanoke, Virginia.

Political career

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Holton was active in the Republican Party when it barely existed in Virginia. He was one of the leading Republicans who fought the Byrd Organization during the three decades it dominated Virginia politics.

In 1965, Holton ran for governor as the Republican candidate and was defeated by Democrat Mills E. Godwin Jr. In 1969, Holton won 52.51% of the vote in the gubernatorial election, defeating Democrat William C. Battle, Virginia Conservative Beverly B. McDowell, American Independent William A. Pennington, and Independent George R. Walker. He became the first Republican governor of Virginia since 1869.

Holton at Virginia Tech in 1971

In 1970, when desegregation was an issue in Virginia, Holton voluntarily placed his children, including future First Lady Anne Holton, in the mostly-black Richmond Public Schools, garnering much publicity.

As governor, he increased employment of blacks and women in state government, created the Virginia Governor's Schools Program in 1973, provided the first state funds for community mental health centers, and supported environmental efforts.

A moderate Republican, Holton was against welcoming conservative Byrd Democrats into the Virginia Republican Party. As the GOP moved increasingly rightward, it turned its back on Holton. When Harry F. Byrd Jr. broke ranks with the increasingly liberal national Democrats and ran as an independent for the Senate in 1970, Holton insisted on running a Republican candidate rather than endorsing an independent. That eventually led to the nomination of Ray Garland.[7] Byrd went on to win the three-way election with an absolute majority.

Holton also encouraged a moderate Republican to run in the special election in 1971 to choose a successor for deceased Lieutenant Governor J. Sargeant Reynolds, an election that was won by another independent, populist Henry Howell.

Holton was not eligible to run in 1973, as Virginia does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms. In 1973, Mills Godwin, the conservative former Democrat who had defeated Holton in the 1965 election, was the Republican nominee. Godwin had supported massive resistance to racial integration and had first identified himself as a Republican in his speech accepting the Virginia Republican convention's nomination for governor.[8][9]

Later life

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Following his term as governor, Holton served one year in the Nixon Administration as the Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations.[a][10] After leaving Washington, he practiced law as a shareholder at McCandlish Holton, P.C.

Holton later unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 1978, finishing third in a race against Richard D. Obenshain, John Warner, and Nathan H. Miller. Warner subsequently became the nominee after Obenshain's death in a plane crash.

Under Gov. Gerald Baliles (1987–1991), he served as interim president of the Center for Innovative Technology in Northern Virginia, where he guided it through managerial difficulties.[2]

After his retirement, Holton supported moderate Republicans, including John Warner. As the Virginia Republican Party became more conservative, however, he found himself more in line with the state Democratic Party and endorsed several Democrats for statewide office, including his son-in-law, Governor Tim Kaine. Holton endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.[11]

The Holtons have four children: Tayloe, Anne, Woody, and Dwight. Anne is married to U.S. Senator and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, the nominee of the Democratic Party for Vice President of the United States in 2016. She was the first First Lady of Virginia to live in Virginia's Executive Mansion both as a child and as a First Lady.[b] In January 2014, Anne Holton was named Virginia Secretary of Education.[12] Woody Holton (Abner Linwood Holton III) has published three books, including Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution (2007), a finalist for the National Book Award, and Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia (1999). His third book, a biography of Abigail Adams, won the Bancroft Prize in 2010. Dwight Holton served as acting U.S. Attorney for Oregon from 2010 to 2011.[13][14] He later lost to Ellen Rosenblum in the May 2012 primary in the race for Oregon Attorney General.[15]

In 1999, Linwood Holton Elementary School, in Richmond, Virginia, was named in his honor.

In November 2005, Holton underwent surgery for bladder cancer. In 2006, Holton, his wife Jinks, daughter Anne and son-in-law Tim Kaine opposed a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia.[16]

The University of Virginia Press published his memoir, Opportunity Time, in March 2008.[17] He was a long-time member of the Governing Council of the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.

In 2017, the City of Roanoke hosted Holton for the dedication of a plaza named in his honor.[18]

On the day of Ralph Northam's inauguration in January 2018, Holton sat front and center for a photograph with Northam and nine other former governors who had followed Holton, including Bob McDonnell, Jim Gilmore, Tim Kaine, Terry McAuliffe, George Allen, Mark Warner, L. Douglas Wilder, Chuck Robb, and Gerald Baliles.[19]

Personal life

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Holton married Virginia "Jinks" Rogers on January 10, 1953.[20] She was a CIA intelligence analyst and the daughter of a leading Roanoke Democratic Party figure.[21] Together, they had four children, Anne, Tayloe, Woody, and Dwight.[21] Anne is married to Tim Kaine, who served as governor of Virginia from 2006 through 2010, and has served as a United States Senator from Virginia since 2013. Kaine was the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee.[22]

Death, memorial, and legacy

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Linwood Holton died of natural causes at his home in Kilmarnock on October 28, 2021, at age 98.[19][23][4]

The memorial service for Holton in December 2021 at Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond included tributes to his belief in civil rights and school desegregation. In attendance were Gov. Ralph Northam, the other eight governors of the state, and Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin. Ann Compton noted that when Holton took office, there were only 31 Republicans among the 141 members of the state legislature.[19]

Holton's tenure as governor ushered in a new era, bringing to seven Republican governors elected compared to seven Democratic governors.[19]

Notes

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  1. ^ The position was later renamed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
  2. ^ Thomas Jefferson's daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph, known as "Patsy", was married to Virginia Governor Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. but never lived in the Mansion.

References

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  1. ^ Cain, Andrew (October 6, 2016). "Five Virginia first ladies tout Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine at Black History Museum". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Schapiro, Jeff E. (Oct 29, 2021). "Linwood Holton, Virginia's first GOP governor of the 20th century, who embraced civil rights, dies at 98." Richmond Time-Dispatch, pp. A1, A6. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hershman, James H. Jr. (March 24, 2014). "A. Linwood Holton (1923– )". Encyclopedia of Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Risen, Clay (November 1, 2021). "Linwood Holton, 98, Virginia Governor Who Pushed for Racial Equality, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Holton Jr., A. Linwood (2008). Opportunity Time: A Memoir, p. 6. University of Virginia Press.
  6. ^ Holton Jr., A. Linwood (2008). Opportunity Time: A Memoir, p. 23.
  7. ^ Atkinson, Frank B. (2006). The Dynamic Dominion. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 240–250. ISBN 9780742552098.
  8. ^ Apple, Jr., R. W. (September 25, 1989). "Though Racial Politics Lurks, It Is Muted in Virginia Contest". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  9. ^ Rich, Frank (February 17, 2008). "The Grand Old White Party Confronts Obama". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  10. ^ "Archive: Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs". United States Department of State. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  11. ^ Craig, Tim (September 13, 2008). "Linwood Holton to Campaign for Obama". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  12. ^ Daudani, Ray (January 3, 2014). "Former First Lady Anne Holton named VA Secretary of Education". nbc12.com. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  13. ^ "Weddings: Mary Ellen Glynn, Dwight Holton". New York Times. September 24, 2000. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  14. ^ "Dwight Holton named interim U.S. attorney for Oregon". The Oregonian. February 10, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  15. ^ Manning, Jeff (May 16, 2012). "Ellen Rosenblum defeats Dwight Holton for attorney general (2012 primary election)". Oregon Live. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  16. ^ "Former Virginia first lady 'Jinks' Holton dies at 97".
  17. ^ Holton Jr., A. Linwood (2008). Opportunity Time: A Memoir by Governor Linwood Holton. Description. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, ISBN 978-0-8139-2720-6
  18. ^ Chittum, Matt. "Downtown plaza dedicated for Linwood Holton, history-making former governor and one-time Roanoker". Roanoke Times. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  19. ^ a b c d Cain, Andrew (December 19, 2021). "'History had its eyes on' Gov. Linwood Holton, journalist Ann Compton says in memorial tribute," Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. A1-A2.
  20. ^ "Linwood Holton". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  21. ^ a b "Holton, A. Linwood (1923– ) – Encyclopedia Virginia". Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  22. ^ Horowitz, Jason (August 5, 2016). "For Anne Holton, Tim Kaine's Wife, Elite Circles Are Old Turf". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  23. ^ Baron, Jeff (October 28, 2021). "A. Linwood Holton Jr., Virginia governor who told bold stance on integration, dies at 98". Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2021.

Further reading

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  • Atkinson, Frank B. The Dynamic Dominion: Realignment and the Rise of Virginia's Republican Party Since 1945 (Fairfax, Va., 1992)
  • Eisenberg, Ralph. "Virginia: The Emergence of Two-Party Politics." in The Changing Politics of the South (Baton Rouge, 1972) pp A1 8+
  • Sweeney, James R. "Southern strategies," Virginia Magazine of History & Biography (1998) 106#2 pp 165–200.

Primary sources

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[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia
1965, 1969 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Republican Governors Association
1972–1973 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Mills Godwin
 Governor of Virginia
1970–1974 		Succeeded by
Mills Godwin
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
1974–1975 		Succeeded by
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