In 1968, Russell Peterson ran for governor against incumbent Charles L. Terry. His platform proposed that he was the man to create a model state, to make government more efficient, to root out injustice and to lead people to work together for the common good. In the midst of the campaign, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, and violence broke out in the black community of Wilmington. Governor Terry called in the National Guard and kept them there for nine months. Anger and fear flared on both sides, and the candidates rushed to address the crisis. Peterson said

Peterson spoke against what he called "a campaign of Bob Terry's fear," which he argued spread the fear of young blacks as a justification for keeping the National Guard on the streets and diverted attention from Terry's failure to address problems in the black community/ But Peterson's heartfelt stance cost him. "Good friends of mine told me they were going to work against me. They were afraid to have the National Guard taken off the streets….I was so convinced that I was right… [But ] it was a potent political, positive factor for Governor Terry."

If not for a flood of television advertising in the three weeks before the election, Peterson felt he never would have been elected. Political ads on television were relatively new at the time, and expensive, but Peterson hired a consultant to develop a one-minute advertisement and a five-minute profile. One month before the election, Governor Terry had a heart attack. These factors combined to give Russell Peterson a slim victory in the governor's race. One of his first acts as Governor was to send the National Guard home.

A book, Russell W. Peterson, published by the Delaware Heritage Commission, is available.