1997Final results
1997 election for Virginia Governor
Governor · Virginia
James S. Gilmore III (R) won with 56.7% of the vote, defeating Don Beyer (D) by 13.5 points.
James S. Gilmore IIIRepublican · winner
56.7%969,062
Don BeyerDemocrat
43.3%738,971
1,708,033 votes
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1997
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET