Linwood Holton, first GOP Va. governor of 20th century, dies

By The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Linwood Holton, Virginia’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction, has died. His family says in a statement that he died peacefully Thursday at his home in Kilmarnock. He was 98. The statement did not specify the cause of death. Holton was a moderate who raised taxes and worked to end racial discrimination. He eventually fell out of favor with the increasingly conservative GOP, which he criticized as obsessed with cutting taxes at the expense of crucial services.