Richard D. Obenshain | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Obenshain in 1978 | |
| Born | Richard Dudley Obenshain (1935-10-31)October 31, 1935 Abingdon, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | August 2, 1978(1978-08-02) (aged 42) |
| Alma mater | J.D., New York University School of Law, Bridgewater College |
| Occupation(s) | Attorney andpolitician |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Mark (b. 1962) Anne Scott[1] Kate (b. 1969) |
| Relatives | Chris (nephew) |
Richard Dudley Obenshain (October 31, 1935 – August 2, 1978) was an American politician and attorney. Obenshain had served as the chairman of theRepublican Party of Virginia and was nominated in 1978 to run as the Republican nominee for the United States Senate but died prior to theelection.
Obenshain was the son of Josephine (Dudley) and Samuel S. Obenshain (1904–2000), a professor atVirginia Tech inBlacksburg, Virginia, where he grew up. The elder Obenshain was active in Virginia's Republican Party during the era of theByrd Organization, the Democratic machine ofHarry F. Byrd.
Richard graduated fromBridgewater College inRockingham County, Virginia, and was admitted to the Virginia Bar. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1964. In that same year, he ran for theHouse of Representatives inVirginia's 3rd congressional district based inRichmond, facing DemocraticState DelegateDavid E. Satterfield III. Obenshain nearly ended the long run of Democratic dominance in the district, losing by only 654 votes.[2] He nearly won on the strength ofBarry Goldwater carrying the district; Goldwater won every county-level jurisdiction in the district except for the city of Richmond.[3] However, Republicans had been making inroads among Byrd Democrats for some time before then. As early as the 1930s, several Byrd Democrats had begun splitting their tickets for national elections due to the increasingly liberal bent of the national party.
Obenshain was the unsuccessful Republican candidate forAttorney General in 1969, and in 1972, successfully defeatedWarren B. French for Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party.[4]
By this time, the Byrd Organization had lost its grip on state politics. In 1966 two longtime Byrd stalwarts, SenatorA. Willis Robertson and CongressmanHoward W. Smith, were ousted by more liberal primary challengers, and Byrd's son,Harry Jr., barely survived a primary challenge for the right to finish out his father's sixth term. Despite this and Byrd Democrats' growing willingness to split their tickets, the GOP was still all but nonexistent at the state and local level; conservative Democrats still held most local offices and dominated theVirginia General Assembly. Under Obenshain's leadership, however, a record number of Republicans were elected to the General Assembly, the first such major gains sinceReconstruction in the late 19th century following theAmerican Civil War.
In the summer of 1978, Obenshain won his party's nomination to run for theU.S. Senate to replace retiringWilliam L. Scott. On the night of August 2, at approximately 11:00 pm the small twin-enginePiper PA-34 Seneca airplane carrying him home from a campaign appearance crashed in trees while attempting a night-time landing at theChesterfield County Airport, ageneral aviation facility nearRichmond. Killed along with the 42-year-old candidate were pilot Richard Neel and aflight instructor.[5][6] Former U.S.Secretary of the NavyJohn Warner was selected to replace Obenshain as the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate race. Warner won in November, and went on to hold the seat for 30 years.
In 2003, two of Richard Obenshain's children enjoyed major successes in Virginia politics. First, his daughter,Kate Obenshain ofWinchester, became the first woman to head the Republican Party of Virginia. Coincidentally, her opponent was state Republican party treasurer Richard Neel Jr., anAlexandria lawyer whose father was the pilot who died in the same crash as Richard Obenshain. Then, in November, Obenshain's son,Mark Obenshain, an attorney based inHarrisonburg, was elected to theVirginia State Senate from the 26th district. He was the 2013 Republican nominee for Attorney General of Virginia. His nephew,Chris Obenshain, was elected to theVirginia House of Delegates in 2023.[7]
According to an article in theVirginian-Pilot newspaper, Obenshain's political legacy was "skill at birthing an alliance of Republicans and conservative Democrats, his prescient support ofRonald Reagan and bold tax cuts, and his tireless crusade to curb Democratic dominance in the state."[8]
In Richmond, the state headquarters of the Republican Party of Virginia is named "The Richard D. Obenshain Center" in his honor.
According to Virginia State Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26), the above statement is slightly misquoted and should read as the following:
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromVirginia (Class 2) 1978 | Succeeded by |