1978 United States Virgin Islands general election

1978 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands
<img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Flag_of_the_United_States_Virgin_Islands.svg/50px-Flag_of_the_United_States_Virgin_Islands.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="33" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="1275" data-file-height="850">
Evans 60–70%	Watlington 50–60%
Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives before election; Ron de Lugo; Democratic	Elected Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives ; Melvin H. Evans; Republican

1978 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election
Results by island	Luis 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
	Luis 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Juan Francisco Luis; Independent	Elected Governor ; Juan Francisco Luis; Independent

The 1978 United States Virgin Islands general election took place on November 7, 1978, to elect public officials in the United States Virgin Islands.

Losing candidates often did not have their political affiliations listed on election returns.

Gubernatorial edit

The 1978 Virgin Islands gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent governor Juan Francisco Luis, who succeeded to office upon the death of Cyril King, defeated U.S. House delegate Ron de Lugo in the general election.

Results edit

1978 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Juan Francisco Luis	12,100	59.87%
	Democratic	Ron de Lugo	8,111	40.13%
Total votes			20,113	100%
	Independent hold

Results by island edit

Island	Luis		Lugo		Margin
St. Croix	6,570	67.94%	3,100	32.06%	+35.88
St. John	425	75.76%	136	24.24%	+51.52
St. Thomas	4,905	50.15%	4,875	49.85%	+0.30

Delegate to the United States House of Representatives edit

The 1978 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democrat Ron de Lugo retired to run for Governor, leaving the seat open. Republican Melvin H. Evans was elected by a narrow margin to only first 2-year term.

As of April 2024, this is the last time a Republican has won a U.S. House election in the Virgin Islands.

Democratic primary edit

1978 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands, Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jan Watlington	4,758	51.58%
	Democratic	Julio A. Brady	4,467	48.42%
Total votes			9,225	100%

General election edit

1978 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Melvin H. Evans	10,539	52.40%
	Democratic	Jan Watlington	9,574	47.60%
Total votes			20,113	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Results by island edit

Island	Evans		Waltington		Margin
St. Croix	6,066	62.90%	3,578	37.10%	+25.80
St. John	363	63.46%	209	36.54%	+26.92
St. Thomas	4,110	41.53%	5,787	58.47%	+16.94

References edit

^ ^a ^b ^c "STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION OF 1978 ELECTIONS ACCORDING TO POLLING PLACES" (PDF). VI Vote. Retrieved 25 April 2024.

[results-1] "STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION OF 1978 ELECTIONS ACCORDING TO POLLING PLACES" (PDF). VI Vote. Retrieved 25 April 2024.

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