1997 Virginia gubernatorial election

Virginia gubernatorial election, 1997

November 4, 1997
Turnout	49.5% (voting eligible)
Nominee Jim Gilmore Don Beyer Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 969,062 738,971 Percentage 55.8% 42.6%
Virginia gubernatorial election results map. Red denotes counties/districts won by Gilmore. Blue denotes those won by Beyer. Gilmore   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Beyer   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%
Governor before election George Allen Republican Elected Governor Jim Gilmore Republican

The 1997 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1997. The incumbent Governor, George Allen, was barred from seeking a second term due to Virginia's unique term limits law. The Republican candidate was Jim Gilmore, the Attorney General of Virginia. The Democratic nominee was Don Beyer, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor.

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Don Beyer (D)	Jim Gilmore (R)	Other	Undecided
Washington Post	October 19–21, 1997	1,005	± 3.0%	41%	48%	4%	11%
Washington Post	September 12–16, 1997	808	± 3.5%	44%	43%	4%	9%

Results

Virginia gubernatorial election, 1997

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Gilmore	969,062	55.81%	-2.46%
	Democratic	Don Beyer	738,971	42.56%	+1.67%
	Reform	Sue Harris DeBauche	25,955	1.49%
	Write-ins		2,326	0.13%
Majority			230,091	13.25%	-4.13%
Turnout			1,736,314
	Republican hold		Swing