1970 Michigan gubernatorial election

1970 Michigan gubernatorial election

←  1966 November 3, 1970 (1970-11-03) 1974  →
Turnout	29.91%
Nominee William Milliken Sander Levin Party Republican Democratic Running mate James H. Brickley Edward H. McNamara Popular vote 1,339,047 1,294,638 Percentage 50.4% 48.7%
County results Milliken:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Levin:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election William Milliken Republican Governor William Milliken Republican

The 1970 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. Republican William Milliken won the election, defeating Democratic nominee Sander Levin.

Primaries

The primary elections occurred on August 4, 1970. ^[1]

Republican primary

Michigan gubernatorial Republican primary, 1970 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Milliken	416,491	77.76
	Republican	James C. Turner	119,140	22.24
	Republican	Write-ins	25	0.01
Total votes			535,656	100.00

Democratic primary

Michigan gubernatorial Democratic primary, 1970 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sander Levin	304,343	54.10
	Democratic	Zolton Ferency	167,442	29.76
	Democratic	George Parris	49,559	8.81
	Democratic	George Montgomery	41,218	7.33
	Democratic	Write-ins	17	0.00
Total votes			562,579	100.00

American Independent primary

Michigan gubernatorial American Independent primary, 1970 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	American Independent	James L. McCormick	100	82.64
	American Independent	Write-ins	21	17.36
Total votes			121	100.00

General election

Major party candidates

• William G. Milliken, Republican
• Sander M. Levin, Democratic

Major party running mates ^[1]

• James H. Brickley, Republican
• Edward H. McNamara, Democratic

Other candidates

• James L. McCormick, American Independent
• George Bouse, Socialist Workers
• James Horvath, Socialist Labor

Other running mates ^[1]

• Robert E. Cauley, American Independent
• Evelyn Kirsch, Socialist Workers
• W. Clifford Bentley, Socialist Labor

Results overview

Michigan gubernatorial election, 1970 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Milliken	1,339,047	50.41
	Democratic	Sander Levin	1,294,638	48.74
	American Independent	James L. McCormick	18,006	0.68
	Socialist Workers	George Bouse	2,220	0.08
	Socialist Labor	James Horvath	2,144	0.08
	Write-ins		107	0.00
Total votes			2,656,162	100.00
	Republican hold

Results by county

County results ^[2]

County	William G. Milliken Republican		Sander Levin Democratic		Other candidates Various [a]		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Alcona	1,708	57.96%	1,239	42.04%	18	0.61%	2,947
Alger	1,172	39.55%	1,791	60.45%	5	0.17%	2,963
Allegan	12,202	61.09%	7,771	38.91%	178	0.89%	19,973
Alpena	4,884	53.95%	4,169	46.05%	67	0.74%	9,053
Antrim	2,857	60.02%	1,903	39.98%	29	0.61%	4,760
Arenac	1,731	49.71%	1,751	50.29%	5	0.14%	3,482
Baraga	1,211	44.33%	1,521	55.67%	19	0.70%	2,732
Barry	6,514	53.79%	5,596	46.21%	103	0.85%	12,110
Bay	17,591	46.46%	20,275	53.54%	223	0.59%	37,866
Benzie	1,774	59.29%	1,218	40.71%	29	0.97%	2,992
Berrien	25,899	58.59%	18,307	41.41%	504	1.14%	44,206
Branch	5,524	56.17%	4,311	43.83%	65	0.66%	9,835
Calhoun	22,116	52.54%	19,980	47.46%	405	0.96%	42,096
Cass	5,494	51.83%	5,107	48.17%	135	1.27%	10,601
Charlevoix	3,210	55.54%	2,570	44.46%	22	0.38%	5,780
Cheboygan	3,068	53.46%	2,671	46.54%	41	0.71%	5,739
Chippewa	5,021	58.79%	3,519	41.21%	76	0.89%	8,540
Clare	2,537	51.74%	2,366	48.26%	33	0.67%	4,903
Clinton	7,981	55.09%	6,505	44.91%	118	0.81%	14,486
Crawford	1,163	55.94%	916	44.06%	8	0.38%	2,079
Delta	5,030	41.69%	7,036	58.31%	69	0.57%	12,066
Dickinson	4,364	47.46%	4,831	52.54%	41	0.45%	9,195
Eaton	12,215	57.06%	9,191	42.94%	171	0.80%	21,406
Emmet	3,503	56.07%	2,744	43.93%	24	0.38%	6,247
Genesee	54,920	43.21%	72,185	56.79%	1,472	1.16%	127,105
Gladwin	2,164	51.03%	2,077	48.97%	18	0.42%	4,241
Gogebic	3,565	39.98%	5,352	60.02%	36	0.40%	8,917
Grand Traverse	8,713	68.76%	3,959	31.24%	128	1.01%	12,672
Gratiot	5,781	54.88%	4,752	45.12%	49	0.47%	10,533
Hillsdale	5,946	58.39%	4,237	41.61%	112	1.10%	10,183
Houghton	5,954	50.94%	5,735	49.06%	54	0.46%	11,689
Huron	6,971	61.70%	4,327	38.30%	79	0.70%	11,298
Ingham	43,911	56.71%	33,520	43.29%	537	0.69%	77,431
Ionia	7,270	54.23%	6,137	45.77%	70	0.52%	13,407
Iosco	3,227	54.83%	2,658	45.17%	33	0.56%	5,885
Iron	2,681	43.37%	3,500	56.63%	12	0.19%	6,181
Isabella	6,007	56.86%	4,557	43.14%	77	0.73%	10,564
Jackson	23,000	54.89%	18,901	45.11%	290	0.69%	41,901
Kalamazoo	35,430	59.32%	24,292	40.68%	527	0.88%	59,722
Kalkaska	1,065	53.71%	918	46.29%	34	1.71%	1,983
Kent	79,459	60.54%	51,800	39.46%	1,189	0.91%	131,259
Keweenaw	496	50.41%	488	49.59%	3	0.30%	984
Lake	1,043	43.17%	1,373	56.83%	11	0.46%	2,416
Lapeer	6,591	52.84%	5,882	47.16%	107	0.86%	12,473
Leelanau	2,814	68.40%	1,300	31.60%	39	0.95%	4,114
Lenawee	13,406	59.83%	8,999	40.17%	163	0.73%	22,405
Livingston	10,103	59.22%	6,956	40.78%	228	1.34%	17,059
Luce	1,098	58.40%	782	41.60%	10	0.53%	1,880
Mackinac	2,161	58.08%	1,560	41.92%	20	0.54%	3,721
Macomb	82,664	46.55%	94,910	53.45%	2,105	1.19%	177,574
Manistee	3,898	53.08%	3,445	46.92%	38	0.52%	7,343
Marquette	7,508	42.75%	10,056	57.25%	98	0.56%	17,564
Mason	4,129	53.15%	3,640	46.85%	42	0.54%	7,769
Mecosta	3,558	55.66%	2,834	44.34%	52	0.81%	6,392
Menominee	4,050	48.63%	4,279	51.37%	46	0.55%	8,329
Midland	11,542	58.25%	8,271	41.75%	149	0.75%	19,813
Missaukee	1,772	65.12%	949	34.88%	31	1.14%	2,721
Monroe	15,547	51.11%	14,872	48.89%	287	0.94%	30,419
Montcalm	6,352	53.47%	5,527	46.53%	94	0.79%	11,879
Montmorency	1,063	54.35%	893	45.65%	16	0.82%	1,956
Muskegon	23,958	50.56%	23,425	49.44%	615	1.30%	47,383
Newaygo	5,081	55.53%	4,069	44.47%	83	0.91%	9,150
Oakland	157,225	55.46%	126,261	44.54%	2,755	0.97%	283,486
Oceana	2,990	51.53%	2,813	48.47%	34	0.59%	5,803
Ogemaw	2,072	49.96%	2,075	50.04%	10	0.24%	4,147
Ontonagon	1,843	44.37%	2,311	55.63%	12	0.29%	4,154
Osceola	3,031	63.93%	1,710	36.07%	45	0.95%	4,741
Oscoda	829	59.60%	562	40.40%	8	0.58%	1,391
Otsego	1,928	55.64%	1,537	44.36%	17	0.49%	3,465
Ottawa	28,396	66.24%	14,470	33.76%	304	0.71%	42,866
Presque Isle	2,396	50.98%	2,304	49.02%	14	0.30%	4,700
Roscommon	2,337	54.90%	1,920	45.10%	27	0.63%	4,257
Saginaw	32,786	53.16%	28,887	46.84%	704	1.14%	61,673
Sanilac	7,460	64.90%	4,035	35.10%	317	2.76%	11,495
Schoolcraft	1,531	46.37%	1,771	53.63%	126	3.82%	3,302
Shiawassee	9,098	48.24%	9,760	51.76%	80	0.42%	18,858
St. Clair	19,434	53.72%	16,743	46.28%	22	0.06%	36,177
St. Joseph	7,729	60.18%	5,114	39.82%	181	1.41%	12,843
Tuscola	7,545	55.49%	6,052	44.51%	79	0.58%	13,597
Van Buren	8,680	55.30%	7,016	44.70%	169	1.08%	15,696
Washtenaw	37,920	58.78%	26,590	41.22%	711	1.10%	64,510
Wayne	336,185	43.36%	439,223	56.64%	5,773	0.74%	775,408
Wexford	3,629	56.97%	2,741	43.03%	52	0.82%	6,370
Totals	1,338,711	50.84%	1,294,600	49.16%	22,782	0.87%	2,633,311

Notes

1. Includes American Independent, Socialist Workers, Socialist Labor, and Write-In votes

References

1. Michigan (1973). Michigan manual. 1971/1972 – via HathiTrust.
2. Scammon, Richard M. (1972). America Votes 9: A Handbook of Contemporary American Election Statistics. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. pp. 160–161. ISBN   0-87187-033-9.