In the 1953 Virginia gubernatorial election, incumbent Governor John S. Battle, a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. Virginia State Senator Theodore Roosevelt Dalton was nominated by the Republican Party to run against former Democratic U.S. Representative Thomas B. Stanley.
As of 2021, this is the last time that the city of Norfolk voted Republican for Governor of Virginia.
General election.
Results.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"| ;templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" / ;±%
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | Majority
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" scope=row | Turnout
! style="text-align:right;" | Swing
References.
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