Howard Smith

★ U.S. Representative

Born: February 2, 1883
Died: October 3, 1976
Age at death: 93
Home state: Virginia
Party: Democratic
On the ballot: 1930–1964

Career timeline

1930Rep 1932Rep 1934Rep 1936Rep 1938Rep 1940Rep

1942Rep 1944Rep 1946Rep 1948Rep 1950Rep 1952Rep

1954Rep 1956Rep 1958Rep 1960Rep 1962Rep 1964Rep

18-0

RecordWin–Loss

Total Popular Votes

Smith660,471

Opponents2.5M

Elections run

Between 1930 and 1964, Howard Smith ran in 18 U.S. House elections, winning all 18. Smith's biggest single-election total was 203,023 votes, in the 1932 U.S. House election in Virginia's at-large district. Smith's closest win came in the 1948 U.S. House election in Virginia's District 8, decided by 8,143 votes.

Browse every U.S. House race in Virginia's District 8, every U.S. House race in Virginia's at-large district, or all 1964 U.S. House races.

How many votes has Howard Smith received?

Howard Smith has received 660,471 popular votes across 18 U.S. elections, with a career record of 18–0.

Election history

Howard Smith’s election history
Year	Office	Result	Votes	Opponent(s)
1964	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	49,44069.38%	Sampson P Bagley
1962	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	20,93198.74%	—
1960	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	42,80975.66%	Lawrence M Traylor
1958	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	28,81599.72%	—
1956	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	38,64867.25%	H B D Clay
1954	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	17,32166.62%	C S Lenhart
1952	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	29,67075.67%	Homer G Richey
1950	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	29,73057.23%	Tyrrell Krum (head-to-head) Clarke T Robb (head-to-head)
1948	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	33,56354.77%	Tyrrell Krum (head-to-head) Frank M Hurst Sarah H Davila
1946	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	21,25262.13%	Lawrence Michael (head-to-head)
1944	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	31,61860.13%	Elizabeth Chilton Murray Lawrence Michael (head-to-head) Clarke T Robb (head-to-head)
1942	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	13,38086.61%	Harrie Byrd Conlin Clarke T Robb (head-to-head)
1940	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	33,03178.97%	Henry B Goodloe
1938	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	13,79699.6%	—
1936	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	28,05275.35%	Duff Green (head-to-head) W T Shelton (head-to-head)
1934	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	14,19178.8%	Duff Green (head-to-head) W T Shelton (head-to-head)
1932	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	203,0238.18%	J A Garber Clifton Woodrum Andrew Montague Schuyler Bland Thomas Burch Absalom Robertson Patrick Drewry Colgate Darden John Flannagan Menalcus Lankford J W McWane Roland E Chase Winfield Scott John S Wise Henry Brown C C Berkeley R Lindsay Gordon Jr. A J Dunning Jr. Albon James Royal John M Dawson Herman R Ansell David G George Angie M Norris J F Spaulding Frank Lyon
1930	U.S. HouseVirginia	Won	11,20179.28%	F M Brooks J W Daniel

Identity & sources. Identity verified against the Congressional Bioguide (S000554) and Wikidata (Q1631939). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.

Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “Howard Smith: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/howard-smith. Accessed [date].

Compiled by PolitiFinder. Election results from official certified sources and the MIT Election Lab. See Data & sources and methodology. Data last verified July 28, 2026.