By this time, the Byrd Organization had lost its grip on state politics. In 1966, two longtime Byrd stalwarts Senator A. Willis Robertson and Congressman Howard W. Smith, were ousted by more liberal primary challengers, and Byrd's son, Harry Jr., barely survived a primary challenge for the right to finish out his father's sixth term. Despite this and Byrd Democrats' growing willingness to split their tickets, the GOP was still all but nonexistent at the state and local level; conservative Democrats still held most local offices and dominated the Virginia General Assembly. Under Obenshain's leadership, however, a record number of Republicans were elected to the General Assembly, the first such major gains since Reconstruction in the late 19th century following the American Civil War.