The 1964 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1964, to elect the governor of West Virginia.
West Virginia at the time was a solidly Democratic state, and the 1964 election year was a strong year for the Democrats nationally with Lyndon Johnson scoring a landslide win over the Republican Barry Goldwater.
The Democrats from a field of four including Julius Singleton, the speaker of the House of Delegates and Harold Cutright who would seek the 1966 Senate nomination as a Republican. The Democrats nominated Hulett Smith recent chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party and son of former Sixth District Representative Joe Smith.
The Republicans overwhelmingly chose the popular former governor Cecil Underwood.
Results Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Results by county County Hulett Carlson SmithDemocratic Cecil Harland UnderwoodRepublican Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % Barbour 3,930 53.24% 3,452 46.76% 478 6.48% 7,382 Berkeley 7,079 50.65% 6,897 49.35% 182 1.30% 13,976 Boone 7,366 66.47% 3,716 33.53% 3,650 32.94% 11,082 Braxton 4,000 60.28% 2,636 39.72% 1,364 20.55% 6,636 Brooke 7,169 54.91% 5,888 45.09% 1,281 9.81% 13,057 Cabell 20,991 46.30% 24,343 53.70% -3,352 -7.39% 45,334 Calhoun 2,030 52.71% 1,821 47.29% 209 5.43% 3,851 Clay 2,732 60.03% 1,819 39.97% 913 20.06% 4,551 Doddridge 1,228 38.73% 1,943 61.27% -715 -22.55% 3,171 Fayette 17,232 72.24% 6,622 27.76% 10,610 44.48% 23,854 Gilmer 2,124 53.94% 1,814 46.06% 310 7.87% 3,938 Grant 1,111 28.18% 2,832 71.82% -1,721 -43.65% 3,943 Greenbrier 7,910 54.05% 6,724 45.95% 1,186 8.10% 14,634 Hampshire 2,813 59.55% 1,911 40.45% 902 19.09% 4,724 Hancock 10,998 58.73% 7,728 41.27% 3,270 17.46% 18,726 Hardy 2,333 54.41% 1,955 45.59% 378 8.82% 4,288 Harrison 18,575 51.96% 17,173 48.04% 1,402 3.92% 35,748 Jackson 3,799 40.51% 5,580 59.49% -1,781 -18.99% 9,379 Jefferson 4,201 63.67% 2,397 36.33% 1,804 27.34% 6,598 Kanawha 54,050 50.14% 53,757 49.86% 293 0.27% 107,807 Lewis 4,043 49.16% 4,182 50.84% -139 -1.69% 8,225 Lincoln 5,136 54.37% 4,311 45.63% 825 8.73% 9,447 Logan 15,072 72.65% 5,674 27.35% 9,398 45.30% 20,746 Marion 18,122 61.00% 11,584 39.00% 6,538 22.01% 29,706 Marshall 9,704 54.48% 8,107 45.52% 1,597 8.97% 17,811 Mason 5,240 47.70% 5,745 52.30% -505 -4.60% 10,985 McDowell 16,696 77.98% 4,714 22.02% 11,982 55.96% 21,410 Mercer 16,682 61.58% 10,409 38.42% 6,273 23.16% 27,091 Mineral 5,131 51.40% 4,852 48.60% 279 2.79% 9,983 Mingo 10,855 70.32% 4,581 29.68% 6,274 40.65% 15,436 Monongalia 12,937 54.67% 10,727 45.33% 2,210 9.34% 23,664 Monroe 3,008 51.76% 2,803 48.24% 205 3.53% 5,811 Morgan 1,435 39.13% 2,232 60.87% -797 -21.73% 3,667 Nicholas 5,378 56.59% 4,125 43.41% 1,253 13.19% 9,503 Ohio 17,104 51.94% 15,824 48.06% 1,280 3.89% 32,928 Pendleton 2,147 57.03% 1,618 42.97% 529 14.05% 3,765 Pleasants 1,854 50.85% 1,792 49.15% 62 1.70% 3,646 Pocahontas 2,652 54.11% 2,249 45.89% 403 8.22% 4,901 Preston 4,987 48.77% 5,238 51.23% -251 -2.45% 10,225 Putnam 5,525 49.72% 5,587 50.28% -62 -0.56% 11,112 Raleigh 19,519 63.81% 11,068 36.19% 8,451 27.63% 30,587 Randolph 6,763 61.67% 4,204 38.33% 2,559 23.33% 10,967 Ritchie 1,644 33.07% 3,327 66.93% -1,683 -33.86% 4,971 Roane 3,037 42.35% 4,134 57.65% -1,097 -15.30% 7,171 Summers 4,301 61.10% 2,738 38.90% 1,563 22.20% 7,039 Taylor 3,521 52.22% 3,222 47.78% 299 4.43% 6,743 Tucker 2,271 56.93% 1,718 43.07% 553 13.86% 3,989 Tyler 1,516 31.14% 3,352 68.86% -1,836 -37.72% 4,868 Upshur 2,798 37.99% 4,567 62.01% -1,769 -24.02% 7,365 Wayne 8,813 51.96% 8,148 48.04% 665 3.92% 16,961 Webster 3,024 66.08% 1,552 33.92% 1,472 32.17% 4,576 Wetzel 4,523 47.86% 4,927 52.14% -404 -4.28% 9,450 Wirt 1,102 49.64% 1,118 50.36% -16 -0.72% 2,220 Wood 16,901 46.49% 19,452 53.51% -2,551 -7.02% 36,353 Wyoming 7,911 62.88% 4,670 37.12% 3,241 25.76% 12,581Totals433,02354.91%355,55945.09%77,4649.82%788,582
References