The 1970 United States Virgin Islands general election in large part took place on November 3, 1970 to elect public officials in the United States Virgin Islands, with a run-off for the gubernatorial race taking place on November 17, 1970.
Candidates for United States Virgin Islands's at-large congressional district and the legislature did not have their political affiliations listed on election returns.
Gubernatorial
The 1970 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1970 to elect the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands with a run-off on November 17, 1970. It was the first gubernatorial election in the state since the 1966 Amending Act allowed for the popular election of territorial governors.[1] While Independent Citizens Movement nominee Cyril King won the first round, incumbent territorial governor Melvin H. Evans won the runoff election by a small margin to a full term in office.
All three nominees in this election have served as Governor at some point, as King would be elected to the office in 1974, and Farrelly in 1986 and 1990.
As of April 2024, this is the last time a Republican has won a gubernatorial election in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Citizens Movement | Cyril King | 5,413 | 36.22% | |
| Progressive Republican | Melvin H. Evans | 4,906 | 32.82% | |
| Democratic | Alexander Farrelly | 4,628 | 30.96% | |
| Total votes | 14,947 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Republican | Melvin H. Evans | 8,259 | 52.54% | +19.72 | |
| Independent Citizens Movement | Cyril King | 7,462 | 47.46% | +11.24 | |
| Total votes | 15,721 | 100% | N/A | ||
Results by island
| Island | Evans | King | Farrelly | Margin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Croix | 1,743 | 23.02% | 3,038 | 36.86% | 3,038 | 40.12% | +3.26 |
| St. John | 55 | 13.25% | 302 | 72.77% | 58 | 13.98% | +58.79 |
| St. Thomas | 3,108 | 44.66% | 2,319 | 33.32% | 1,532 | 22.02% | +11.34 |
| Island | Evans | King | Margin | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Croix | 3,967 | 53.51% | 3,446 | 46.49% | +7.02 |
| St. John | 109 | 23.14% | 362 | 76.86% | +53.72 |
| St. Thomas | 4,183 | 53.38% | 3,654 | 46.62% | +6.76 |
Delegate to the United States House of Representatives
The 1970 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands took place on November 3, 1970. Democrat Ron de Lugo became the first delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Virgin Islands.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ron de Lugo | 5,336 | 37.07% | |
| Nonpartisan | Lucia A. Galiber | 4,772 | 33.15% | |
| Nonpartisan | Victor G. Schneider | 4,287 | 29.78% | |
| Total votes | 14,395 | 100% | ||
Results by island
| Island | Lugo | Galiber | Schneider | Margin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Croix | 1,978 | 29.98% | 1,901 | 28.81% | 2,719 | 41.21% | +11.24 |
| St. John | 62 | 15.57% | 282 | 70.85% | 54 | 13.57% | +55.28 |
| St. Thomas | 3,296 | 44.55% | 2,589 | 34.99% | 1,514 | 20.46% | +9.56 |
Territorial Legislature
The 1970 United States Virgin Islands legislative election was held on November 3, 1970, to elect members of the 9th Virgin Islands Legislature. Voters were allowed to choose multiple candidates per district. John L. Maduro was elected president of the legislature at the start of the legislative session.
At-large district
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Alexander Moorhead | 5,713 | 20.11% | |
| Nonpartisan | John L. Maduro | 5,114 | 18.00% | |
| Nonpartisan | Arturo Soto | 4,959 | 17.46% | |
| Nonpartisan | Augustin Doward | 4,654 | 16.38% | |
| Nonpartisan | Leslie Alfred Millin | 4,055 | 14.27% | |
| Nonpartisan | George G. O'Reilly | 3,915 | 13.78% | |
| Total votes | 28,410 | 100% | ||
St. Thomas–St. John district
One senator from the St. Thomas–St. John district was required to be elected from St. John, irregardless of how they placed in the election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Athniel C. Ottley | 3,544 | 6.57% | |
| Nonpartisan | Earle B. Ottley | 3,494 | 6.48% | |
| Nonpartisan | Virdin C. Brown | 3,402 | 6.31% | |
| Nonpartisan | Percival H. Reese | 3,342 | 6.20% | |
| Nonpartisan | Ariel Melchior | 3,204 | 5.94% | |
| Nonpartisan | A. David Puritz | 3,169 | 5.88% | |
| Nonpartisan | Freeman Dawson | 3,102 | 5.75% | |
| Nonpartisan | Gaylord A. Sprauve | 3,046 | 5.65% | |
| Nonpartisan | Anthony Cerge | 3,008 | 5.58% | |
| Nonpartisan | Louis P. Hestres | 2,982 | 5.53% | |
| Nonpartisan | Liston A. Davis | 2,971 | 5.51% | |
| Nonpartisan (St. John) | Elroy A. Sprauve | 2,917 | 5.41% | |
| Nonpartisan (St. John) | Theovald E. Moorehead | 2,862 | 5.31% | |
| Nonpartisan | Edward J. Moran | 2,834 | 5.25% | |
| Nonpartisan | Richard R. Maguire | 1,641 | 3.04% | |
| Nonpartisan | Thyra Hodge Smith | 1,374 | 2.55% | |
| Nonpartisan | Luther Benjamin | 1,372 | 2.54% | |
| Nonpartisan | Jacob M. Monsanto | 1,292 | 2.39% | |
| Nonpartisan | Rene S. Danet | 1,272 | 2.36% | |
| Nonpartisan | David Vialet | 1,179 | 2.18% | |
| Nonpartisan (St. John) | Richard Ellington | 1,107 | 2.05% | |
| Nonpartisan (St. John) | Vincen M. Clendinen | 652 | 1.21% | |
| Nonpartisan | Frank W. Lichtenberg II | 116 | 0.22% | |
| Total votes | 53,882 | 100% | ||
St. Croix district
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jiame Garciaz | 2,483 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Lew Muckle | 2,400 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Philip C. Clark | 2,387 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Claude A. Molloy | 2,368 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Hector Cintron | 2,335 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Felix A. Francis | 2,235 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Randall N. James | 2,179 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Frits E. Lawaetz | 2,177 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Edgar D. Mullgrav | 2,161 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Arnold M. Golden | 2,090 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Helen I. Joseph | 2,089 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Hortense M. Rowe | 2,089 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Joanna P. Lindquist | 2,046 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Juan Centeno | 2,004 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Clifford J. Johnson | 1,931 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Rafael Escudero | 1,777 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Santiago Garcia | 1,449 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Jose Figueroa | 1,390 | ||
| Nonpartisan | David M. Hamilton | 1,233 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Faith Dane Johnson | 66 | ||
| Total votes | 38,889 | 100% | ||
References
- ^ "Revised Organic Act" (PDF). CivicLive. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Statistical Recapitualation of 1970 General and Run-off Elections Return" (PDF). VI Vote. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Statistical Recapitulation of 1970 General Election Returns According to Polling Places for Senators and Washington Representative" (PDF). VI Vote. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
