1974 Georgia gubernatorial election

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1974 Georgia gubernatorial election
Flag of the State of Georgia (1956-2001).svg
  1970 November 5, 1974 1978  
  George Busbee (cropped).jpg Ronnie Thompson 4.jpg
Nominee George Busbee Ronnie Thompson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote646,777289,113
Percentage69.1%30.9%

1974 Georgia gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Busbee:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Thompson:     50–60%

Governor before election

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

Elected Governor

George Busbee
Democratic

The 1974 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974. Under Georgia's constitution at the time, incumbent Democratic governor Jimmy Carter was ineligible to serve a second consecutive term, and was in the process of launching his presidential campaign. George Busbee was elected as the 77th Governor of Georgia.

Contents

Democratic nomination

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in runoff

Eliminated in primary

Democratic primary election results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Lester Maddox 310,38436.32
Democratic George Busbee 177,97720.83
Democratic Bert Lance 147,02617.20
Democratic David H. Gambrell 66,0007.72
Democratic George T. Smith 43,1965.05
Democratic Harry C. Jackson 42,1214.93
Democratic Robert A. Rowan 31,6963.71
Democratic Ronnie Thompson 23,9332.80
Democratic B. J. Parker4,6500.54
Democratic Bud Herrin3,4190.40
Democratic Thomas J. Irwin2,2240.26
Democratic Jennings Thompson1,9870.23

Democratic runoff results

Democratic runoff results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic George Busbee 551,10659.86
Democratic Lester Maddox 369,60840.14

Republican nomination

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in runoff

  • Harold Dye, army veteran

Eliminated in primary

Republican primary election results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ronnie Thompson 19,69141.00
Republican Harold Dye10,91222.72
Republican George Lankford8,61817.95
Republican Harry Geisinger 6,07812.66
Republican Bill Coolidge2,7235.67

Republican runoff results

Republican runoff results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ronnie Thompson 22,21150.62
Republican Harold Dye21,66949.38

General election results

In a year marred for the Republicans by Richard Nixon's resignation just three months earlier, alongside the continued domination of Georgia by the Democratic Party and Thompson's dividing of the GOP (a move which inspired many prominent figures in the Georgia party to refrain from openly supporting him), Busbee was elected in a landslide. Douglas and Clayton County were the only two counties where Thompson won the most votes. [5] Two years later, a revision of the Georgia Constitution was done that included a rule to allow a Governor to be elected to a second consecutive term. Subsequently, Busbee ran for Governor again four years later. Zell Miller was elected as lieutenant governor, serving for 16 years. As of 2022, this is the last time that Clayton County voted for the Republican candidate for governor.

Georgia gubernatorial election, 1974 [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic George Busbee 646,777 69.07%
Republican Ronnie Thompson289,11330.87%
Democratic hold Swing

References

  1. "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Primary Race - Aug 13, 1974". Our Campaigns.
  2. "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - D Runoff Race - Sep 03, 1974". Our Campaigns.
  3. "Our%20Campaigns%20-%20GA%20Governor%20-%20R%20Primary%20Race%20-%20Aug%2013,%201974". Our Campaigns.
  4. "Our Campaigns - GA Governor - R Runoff Race - Sep 03, 1974". Our Campaigns.
  5. 1974 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Georgia
  6. "1974 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Georgia".