Howard H. Carwile

Howard Carwile ran for governor as an independent in the 1953 campaign against Ted Dalton and Thomas Stanley. A Richmond attorney, Carwile ran later in 1957 against Lindsay Almond for the Democratic nomination. Calling himself a "Jacksonian Democrat," he ran on a platform of "peaceful compliance with the Supreme Court decision on integration," "preservation of Virginia's free public school system," and abolition of the poll tax. Carwile argued that the Byrd Organization had "shamefully sabotaged" the public schools. Despite Carwile's fiery campaigning, the turnout for the Democratic primary in 1957 was the lowest in over 25 years and Carwile lost by a three to one margin. Conservatives disparaged Carwile as a perpetual candidate who forced an expensive primary election on an otherwise uncontested field of candidates. Carwile ran for nearly every office in Virginia and conducted over fifteen campaigns. Carwile was born in Charlotte County, Virginia, and graduated from Southeastern University law school. He crusaded for prison reform in Virginia, bringing cases against cruel and unusual punishment and opening official investigations into prison conditions. Carwile later published Speaking From Byrdland (Lyle Stuart, 1960), a collection of his weekly radio talks in Richmond against racial segregation. (Washington Post, June 4 and June 9, 1957)