Governor
While serving as Attorney General, Montague became increasingly involved with the Virginia Progressive movement, with an emphasis on education reform and disfranchisement of black voters as a way to stem political corruption. Positioning himself as the independent alternative to Senator Thomas S. Martin's political machine, Montague determined to make a run in the upcoming Virginia gubernatorial election. Running on the independent platform, Montague solidly defeated Martin's candidate, Claude A. Swanson, for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Virginia. Montague went on to easily beat Republican candidate J. Hampton Hoge in the general election of 1902, becoming the first Virginia Governor since the Civil War who had not served with the Confederate Army. Shortly after Montague's inauguration, and with his support, the Virginia Constitution of 1902 was enacted, with poll taxes and literacy tests that effectively disenfranchised the black vote. Ironically, the new Constitution created a smaller and more easily controlled electorate, thus strengthening the Martin machine.
As Governor, Montague's focus was on the progressive agenda, and he gave frequent speeches throughout the state calling for progress toward "good schools" and "good roads". His efforts on behalf of schools resulted in some tangible progress, particularly in terms of increased local funding, longer terms and consolidation of schools. For roads, he pressed for the creation of a state highway commission, which officially came into being two months after he left office. Montague also championed the primary process as a more open way to select political party candidates, and his efforts helped lead to the primary system being adopted for the first time in 1905. However, these accomplishments fell far short of Montague's legislative ambitions, for which he blamed a hostile legislature and the political machine run by his long-time foe, Senator Martin.
In 1905, while still in office as Governor, Montague determined to make a run for the United States Senate against the incumbent Martin. Martin and Montague represented the two main factions within the Virginia Democratic party, and their contest would effectively determine which would control Virginia politics. Martin responded to the challenge by publicly embracing Montague's main issues - good schools, good roads and the primary election process. Having minimized the differences between their positions and with a larger political organization, Senator Martin handily won re-election, leaving an embittered Montague to finish out his term as Governor.
Read more about this topic: Andrew Jackson Montague
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