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[edit]

1970 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election

November 3, 1970 1974 →

Nominee Melvin H. Evans Cyril King Alexander Farrelly Party Progressive Republican Independent Citizens Democratic Running mate David E. Maas Hugh M. Smith Hugh M. Smith General vote 4,906 5,413 4,628 Percentage 32.82% 36.22% 30.96% Runoff vote 8,259 7,462 Eliminated Percentage 52.54% 47.46%

General election results Runoff results Evans   40–50%   50–60% King   70–80% Farrelly   40–50%

Governor before election Melvin H. Evans (territorial) Progressive Republican Elected Governor Melvin H. Evans Progressive Republican

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[edit]

Results by island[edit]

Delegate to the United States House of Representatives[edit]

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.

1970 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands

November 3, 1970 1972 →

Nominee Ron de Lugo Lucia A. Galiber Victor G. Schneider Party Democratic Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 5,336 4,772 4,287 Percentage 37.07% 33.15% 29.78%

Results by island Lugo   40–50% Galiber   40–50% Schneider   70–80%

Elected Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives Ron de Lugo Democratic

Results[edit]

Results by island[edit]

Territorial Legislature[edit]

1970 United States Virgin Islands legislative election

← 1968 November 3, 1970 (1970-11-03) 1972 →
All 15 seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands
Majority party   Leader John L. Maduro Party Nonpartisan Leader since 1969 Leader's seat At-large Total seats 15 seats Total votes 121,181
President before election John L. Maduro Nonpartisan Elected President John L. Maduro Nonpartisan

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[edit]

St. Thomas–St. John district[edit]

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.

St. Croix district[edit]

References[edit]