Mills E. Godwin Jr.

Mills Edwin Godwin, Jr. (November 19, 1914–January 30, 1999) was an American politician who was Governor of Virginia for two terms, from 1966 to 1970 and from 1974 until 1978.

Godwin was born in Nansemond County (now-Suffolk, Virginia) and he attended the College of William and Mary. Godwin spent his first term as governor as a member of the Democratic Party, but by 1974, he had switched to the Republican Party, as the dominance of the Democrats in Virginia politics had come to an end.

He had also served in the Virginia state senate between 1952 and 1962 and was the lieutenant governor between 1962 and 1966. In the state senate, Godwin was one of the leaders of the segregationist policy of "massive resisteance," which aimed at preventing implementation of federal court decisions requiring that black students by admitted to white schools.

With an eye to the 1965 gubernatorial race, however, during the 1964 presidential campaign he reached out to African American voters by campaigning for President Lyndon B. Johnson, who led the movement for enactment of the Civil Rights Act of that year.

When he ran for governor the next year, he had no Democratic opposition and was therefore nominated without a primary election. His support of President Johnson the previous year, however, lost him the support of the most die-hard segregationists, who bolted from the Democratic party to support William J. Story, Jr., the candidate of the short-lived Virginia Conservative Party. Godwin's bid for governor in 1965 was endorsed by the local affiliates of both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the AFL-CIO.

Despite the third party challenge, Godwin defeated A. Linwood Holton Jr. by a 48%-36% margin with Story winning 13% of the vote.

As Governor, Godwin abandomed the 'pay as you go' philosophy that was prominent in the state by getting state bonds to pay for capital projects.

After his first term ended in 1970, Godwin began to separate himself from the Democratic party. He managed the Senate campaign of Harry F. Byrd, Jr. who was running as an Independent candidate. Godwin was denied a seat at the Democratic state convention in 1972 and he supported Republican Richard Nixon over George McGovern.

Switching to the Republican party before the election, Godwin defeated Lt. Governor Henry E. Howell to win his second term. Godwin became the only Virginia Governor to be elected to two terms in the 20th century. His second term lacked the accomplishments of his first term as Godwin ordered spending cuts due to the poor economy.

After the end of his second term, Godwin worked behind the scenes in the Virginia Republican Party.

Mills Godwin High School, in suburban Richmond, Virginia, is named for him.