1978 United States Virgin Islands general election

1978 United States House of Representatives election in the Virgin Islands
	November 7, 1978
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
	November 7, 1978
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 election

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

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

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

Territorial Legislature

Senator At Large
Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Cleone Creque Hodge	Democratic Party	11,687	100.00
Total			11,687	100.00

Source: ^[1]

St. Thomas/St. John
Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Michel Paiewonsky	Democratic Party	7,615	13.37
	Athniel C. Ottley	Democratic Party	7,560	13.28
	Lloyd L. Williams	Democratic Party	6,818	11.97
	Elmo D. Roebuck	Democratic Party	6,666	11.71
	Earle B. Ottley	Democratic Party	5,965	10.48
	Alli J. Paul	Independent	5,460	9.59
	John L. Maduro	Democratic Party	4,959	8.71
	Roger C. Hill		4,725	8.30
	John P. Collins	Independent	2,795	4.91
	Rahim Khabib		1,780	3.13
	Harold Moller	Independent	1,417	2.49
	Glanfield Orascio Testamark	Independent	1,181	2.07
Total			56,941	100.00

Source: ^[1]

St. Croix
Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Sidney Lee	Democratic Party	5,352	10.17
	Leroy S. Arnold	Democratic Party	4,810	9.14
	Williams S. Harvey	Democratic Party	4,094	7.78
	Ruby M. Rouss	Democratic Party	4,056	7.71
	John A. Bell	Independent	3,913	7.44
	Eddy Rivera	Democratic Party	3,791	7.20
	Hector L. Cintron	Independent	3,487	6.63
	Edgar M. Iles		3,272	6.22
	James Bennerson		3,042	5.78
	Ann E. Ambramson	Independent	2,612	4.96
	Helen I. Joseph	Independent	2,252	4.28
	Holland L. Redfield II	Independent	2,106	4.00
	Claude A. Molloy	Independent	1,959	3.72
	G. Luz A. James	Independent	1,866	3.55
	Jessica Tutein Moolenaar	Independent	1,311	2.49
	Leona Watson	Independent	983	1.87
	Dante R. Rossi	Independent	980	1.86
	Earl S. Walker	Independent	872	1.66
	J. Robert Smith	Independent	712	1.35
	Edric W. Stanley	Independent	501	0.95
	Jose A. Pereira	Independent	412	0.78
	Faith Dane Johnson	Independent	244	0.46
Total			52,627	100.00

Source: ^[1]

Delegate to the United States House of Representatives

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

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

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

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

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

[results-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION OF 1978 ELECTIONS ACCORDING TO POLLING PLACES" (PDF). VI Vote. Retrieved April 25, 2024.

[1]

Elections in the United States Virgin Islands
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