Editing Chuck Robb (section)

===Governor of Virginia===
Robb led the statewide Democratic ticket as its candidate for governor [[1981 Virginia gubernatorial election|in 1981]]. The three Democrats running for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general won by appealing to conservatives who were disenchanted with Robb's Republican opponent, [[Marshall Coleman|J. Marshall Coleman]]. Virginia Democrats again won all three statewide offices in 1985, which was viewed as an endorsement of Robb's leadership while in office. As a campaigner, Robb was capable but reserved. During a time when political communication styles were beginning to favor sound bites, Robb was known for speaking in paragraphs about complex policy issues. He was also noteworthy among his contemporaries for raising substantial sums of campaign funds. During his term as governor, Robb founded the [[Democratic Governors Association]] in 1983.

Politically, Robb was a moderate and known generally as being fiscally conservative, pro-national security, and progressive on social issues. As governor, he balanced the state budget without raising taxes and dedicated an additional $1&nbsp;billion for education. He appointed a record number of women and minorities to state positions, including the first African American to the state [[Supreme Court of Virginia|Supreme Court]]. He was the first Virginia governor in 25 years to use the death penalty. Robb was instrumental in creating the [[Super Tuesday]] primary that brought political power to the Southern states. He was also a co-founder in creating the [[Democratic Leadership Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dreyfuss |first=Robert |date=2001-12-19 |title=How the DLC Does It |url=https://prospect.org/api/content/7381b35d-33c6-5f67-8b68-69dc59c3aaea/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419104100/https://prospect.org/features/dlc/ |archive-date=2024-04-19 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=The American Prospect |language=en-us}}</ref> He was a strong vote-getter in Virginia in the 1980s and helped mold a more progressive Virginia Democratic Party than the one that had ruled the state for decades. For a time he was considered a [[President of the United States|presidential]] or [[Vice President of the United States|vice-presidential]] prospect.