Virginia gubernatorial election, 1989
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The Virginia gubernatorial election of 1989 was the first time that a U.S. state elected an African American for Governor.
Popular incumbent Democratic Governor Gerald L. Baliles was barred from seeking re-election. Virginia is only state in which no one can serve as governor for two consensutive terms.
Baliles endorsed his Lieutenant Governor Douglas Wilder, who won Democratic nomination.
The Republican Party nominated state Attorney General J. Marshall Coleman.
| Virginia gubernatorial election, 1989 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | L. Douglas Wilder | 896,936 | 50.19 | ||
| Republican | J. Marshall Coleman | 890,195 | 49.81 | ||
Although Wilder won governorship with less than half of a precent, his election, as the first African American ever elected Governor of the U.S. State and just second to serve at such post, he quickly rose to the national prominence. He briefly sought Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, and now is Mayor of Richmond.
