Richard Joseph Davis Jr. (August 7, 1921 – March 4, 1999)[1] was an American politician who was the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 serving under Governor Chuck Robb.

[2] A former mayor of Portsmouth, Virginia, Davis' 1981 election as Lieutenant Governor saw him win 8 of the 10 Congressional Districts composing Virginia in 1981; his statewide margin of victory over Republican state senator Nathan H. Miller was 150,000 votes.

[3] In 1982, Davis ran for the United States Senate, but lost to Republican candidate Paul S. Trible Jr.[4] Davis was the first Catholic elected to a statewide office in Virginia history.

Four years later, in the 2005 Virginia General elections, history was made again when Kaine won the governor's race and Bob McDonnell won the attorney general's race.

Davis owned the Tidewater Sharks in the Southern Hockey League from 1975 to 1977.