Evening star., 1954-11-07
.B;IIRBlI,E|I.a
|Heafin Virginia;
Democrats Cool
| Whistling in Dark
| Could BE Reason
| For Indifference

0Y SNtGA Ns EtSSt0H
Virginia Democrats who stu
died Tuesdays election returns
and then professed no concern
over continuing Republican In
roads may be Whistling In the
dark.
In all Of the seven districts
where Republicans were running
for Congress. the COP. polled
Is per cent Of the total vote
against Democrats.
Last year Republicans cap
tured As per cent in the Cover
nor's race.
The year before that they
polled IS per cent for Gen. Eli
senhower-but that was with the
open support OF Democratic
leaders.
Really Started Something.
It is beginning to look now,
though, like the Democrats
really started something in 1851.
Senator Byrd. long time leader
OF the controlling Democratic
organization, and Gov. Stanley,
have expressed their gratifica-
ton over Tuesdays results
which saw their party recapturs
by extremely narrow limits
one Of the three Republican.
held House seats.
Out Of the States 10 congres.
Sional districts, there were three
in which Democrats had no OPP
position. In the and, Sd, 9Th, 7th,
9th, 9th and 10th Districts, Re-
publican or G.. o. P.-indorsed
candidates were running.
Total vote cast In those dis
tricts. based on returns from all
but o fraction of the paecincts,
was 296,391. The Republicans
got q total Of 136,226-or Just
under 46 per cent.
The situation was dramatically
pointed up Friday in an editorial
in The Star which selected half
Of the States 10 districts where
the Republicans made their best
showing.
In these five districts which
did not include the 7th or the
2d-Republicans actually polled
some $500 more votes than their
Democratic counterparts.
Fails to Notice Trend.
The Associated Press quoted
1t. Gov. A. E. s. Stephens as
failing to notice any particular
trend toward the G. o. p. In
Virginia.
"I think the losses In the 9Th
and 10th Districts can be attrib-
uted largely to the lethargy Of
the Democrats themselves" he
said.
They are the two areas where
Representatives Pof and Broy-
hill, respectively. won smashing
victories. s
After Republicans I'm o 81
elected to the soyernorship their
national committeeman, State
Senator Ted Dalton, with As per
cent Of the vote last year, it was
Mr.. Stephens and State Attor-
ney General j. Lindsay Almond,
jr., who called on the Democratic
Party to broaden its horizons"
and attract more young people.
Mr.. Broyhill is IS; Mr.. Poff is
81: Representative Wampler Of
the 9th. the Republican who
missed by a scant 991 votes out
Of a total Of nearly 78.500, lis
only %. the youngest member
OF Congress.
That the Democrats are going
to have to get divergent factions
together soon is apparent be-
cause Of next years important
balloting to elect members of the
General Assembly. At present the
G. 0. P. strength in the legisla-
ture is small-only six out Of
100 in the House Of Delegates
and two out of 40 State Senator's.
Widely Divided.
Delegate Ernest Robertson, the
Democrat who was showed under
by Representative Poff in the
9Th District, found his party
widely divided after his primary
victory last July over Powell
Glass, jr., grandson of the late
Senator Carter Glass.
During the general election
campaign that followed, Mr..
Robertson implied Senator Byrd
had promised his support but
the organization chief refused
to confirm this.
NOW Mr.. Robertson blameS his
defeat on Senator Byrd's silence.
The Senator, after expressing his
qualification over the victory in
the 9th District, said he had
given his support to the winner,
Pat Jennings, there. But he said
he wasn't going to comment on
MIR. Robertson's race In the 9Th
District.