Richard Obenshain

Richard Obenshain   ( politician)
Born	Richard Dudley Obenshain October 31, 1935  Abingdon,  Virginia,  U.S.
Died	August 2, 1978 (Age 42)
Cause of death	plane crash
Victim of	assassination
Nationality	US
Ethnicity	Jewish
Children	•  Mark •  Anne Scott •  Kate
Spouse	Helen W. Obenshain
Nominated in 1978 to run as the Republican nominee for the United States Senate but died in a suspicious plane crash prior to the election.

Richard Dudley Obenshain was an American politician and attorney. Obenshain had been chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia and was nominated in 1978 to run as the Republican nominee for the United States Senate but died in a suspicious plane crash prior to the election.

Death

In the summer of 1978, Obenshain won his party's nomination at the state convention to run for the U.S. Senate to succeed the retiring one-term conservative Republican Senator William L. Scott. On the night of August 2, the small twin-engine airplane carrying Obenshain home from a campaign appearance crashed in trees while attempting a night-time landing at the Chesterfield County Airport, a general aviation facility near Richmond at which the runway lights were out of order. Killed along with Obenshain was the pilot and a flight instructor.

The party then replaced him as nominee with former Secretary of the Navy John Warner, who had previously been one of Obenshain's rivals at the state Republican nomination convention. Warner won the election, and held the seat until his retirement in 2008.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.