University of Virginia Library

Nixon Urges State Voters To Elect
First GOP Governor Since 1869

By Stefan Lopatkiewicz
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

"There is a new era beginning in
Washington - a new relationship between
the federal and the state governments,"
declared President Richard M. Nixon in
an address to the Nixon-Holton victory
rally at the Roanoke Valley Civic Center
last night.

Greeted by a crowd of several
thousand, including a small band of noisy
anti-war protesters, the President praised
46-year-old Linwood Holton, the GOP
gubernatorial candidate, as a man of
"perseverance, dedication, intelligence
and drive."

Climaxing the gubernatorial campaign
of Mr. Holton with his endorsement of
the GOP hopeful, President Nixon called
for Virginia to take a leading role in his
program of "the New Federalism" and
asserted that Mr. Holton is the man to
lead the state in this effort.

Man For Future

"I like the fact that Linwood Holton
is not a man of the past, but one for the
future of Virginia," Mr. Nixon said.

"He has the character and the capability to
be one of the truly great governors in the
history of this state which has produced many
of America's greatest political leaders," President
Nixon said in a statement released aboard
Air Force One during the flight to Roanoke
from Washington.

In his address before a capacity crowd of
11,000, Mr. Nixon described a rising breed of
"men who recognize not only states' rights but
state responsibilities. Linwood Holton is such a
man. He will provide a new look, new
leadership for Virginia."

Mr. Holton's Democratic opponent is
William C. Battle, a Charlottesville lawyer and
former Kennedy Administration ambassador to
Australia.

Mr. Holton, a regional director for the
Nixon campaign last fall and a longtime friend
of the President, has had help in his campaign
previously from Vice President Spiro T. Agnew,
Gov. Ronald Reagan of California, and GOP
National Chairman Roger C. B. Morton.

The gallery last night included the entire
Republican state of statewide candidates, four
Virginia Republican congressmen, and hundreds
of GOP state officials, while a crowd of
thousands stood in the chill night air outside
the Civic Center to hear the President's speech
on closed-circuit television.

Share Tax Revenues

The President used the occasion to call, once
again, for the sharing of federal tax revenues
"without strings" with the states. "We are at a
watershed of history in the federal-state
relations of our country," he asserted.

Hitting the campaign trail for the first time
since assuming the presidency, Mr. Nixon jibed
critics of his foray into Virginia politics, saying,
"I don't think the President of the United
States is an outsider in any state of the Union."

He noted that he is a former Virginian
himself, having lived in the state, while serving
in Congress, longer than in any other state
except for his native California.

After receiving a five-minute standing
ovation upon assuming the podium, he
quipped, "That's quite a welcome for an
outside agitator."

Two-Party System

The President called for a Republican
victory at the polls on November 4 to
encourage a two-party system in Virginia,
saying, "whether it's in business or in the
athletic field or in politics, the better the
competition, the better the man that wins."

"One of the things that impresses me
tonight is the number of young people here,"
Mr. Nixon continued, and added, "a vote for
Lin Holton is a vote for the future of Virginia."

M. Cauldwell Butler, Minority Leader in the
House of Delegates, remarked that Mr. Nixon's
visit marked the first time an incumbent
President of the United States has appeared in
Virginia to endorse a candidate for governor.

First Since 1869

If Mr. Holton can defeat his Democratic
opponent at the polls on Tuesday, he will
become the first Republican governor of
Virginia since 1869.

In his short speech introducing the President,
Mr. Holton, a Roanoke attorney,
enunciated again his theme that "the many
voices of Virginia will be heard" in his
administration.

The GOP candidate declared that a Republican
victory on Tuesday would ensure that
Virginia "will again become the bastion of
democracy."

"The signs across the Commonwealth are
unmistakable: people want a change," Mr.
Holton stated.

A large contingent of state troopers took up
positions within and around the auditorium in
preparation for the President's arrival. Despite
the security arrangements, President Nixon did
break into the crowd to greet supporters and
shake hands.