Mills Godwin | |
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![]() Godwin in 1974 | |
60th and 62nd Governor of Virginia | |
In office January 12, 1974 – January 14, 1978 | |
Lieutenant | John N. Dalton |
Preceded by | Linwood Holton |
Succeeded by | John N. Dalton |
In office January 15, 1966 – January 17, 1970 | |
Lieutenant | Fred G. Pollard |
Preceded by | Albertis Harrison |
Succeeded by | Linwood Holton |
28th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia | |
In office January 13, 1962 – January 15, 1966 | |
Governor | Albertis Harrison |
Preceded by | Allie E. S. Stephens |
Succeeded by | Fred G. Pollard |
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 5th district | |
In office December 2, 1952 – January 10, 1962 | |
Preceded by | Allie E. S. Stephens |
Succeeded by | William V. Rawlings |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates for Nansemond and Suffolk | |
In office January 14, 1948 – December 2, 1952 | |
Preceded by | Willis E. Cohoon |
Succeeded by | Willis E. Cohoon |
Personal details | |
Born | Mills Edwin Godwin Jr. November 19, 1914 Chuckatuck, Virginia, U.S. |
Died | January 30, 1999 Newport News, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 84)
Political party | Republican (1973–1999) |
Other political affiliations | Democratic (before 1973) |
Spouse | |
Children | Becky Godwin |
Education | Old Dominion University University of Virginia (LLB) |
Signature | ![]() |
Mills Edwin Godwin Jr. (November 19, 1914 – January 30, 1999) was an American politician who was the 60th and 62nd governor of Virginia for two non-consecutive terms, from 1966 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1978.
In his first term, he was a member of the Democratic Party, and was the last Virginia governor elected as a part of the Byrd Machine, the conservative Democratic establishment that dominated the state's politics for over three decades. He was succeeded by Linwood Holton, the first non-Democratic governor in over 80 years. By 1973, when he ran for a second term, Godwin had switched to the Republican Party, as the dominance of the Democrats in Virginia politics receded and the Byrd political machine had disintegrated. He was the first governor in the history of the United States to be elected as both a Democrat and a Republican.