Byrd then ran for a full term in the Senate in 1970 as an independent, although both major parties nominated candidates. Widely popular in the state, Byrd was elected with a majority of 54 percent against both Democrat George C. Rawlings Jr. of Fredericksburg and Republican Ray L. Garland of Roanoke. Byrd thus became the first independent to win a statewide election in Virginia, and also the first independent to win a U.S. Senate seat by a majority vote. Byrd's move is said to have influenced Virginia political power for more than twenty years.