1974 United States Senate election in North Carolina

1974 United States Senate election in North Carolina

←  1968 November 5, 1974 1980  →

Nominee Robert B. Morgan William E. Stevens Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 633,647 386,720 Percentage 61.56% 37.57%

County results Morgan:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Stevens:      50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Sam Ervin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Robert B. Morgan Democratic

A United States Senate election was held in North Carolina on November 5, 1974, as part of the year's nationwide elections. Democratic nominee Robert B. Morgan beat Republican nominee William E. Stevens; incumbent Democrat Sam Ervin had recently retired.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Nick Galifianakis, U.S. Representative from Durham and 1972 senate nominee
• James Johnson
• Robert B. Morgan, Attorney General of North Carolina
• Henry Wilson

15.9% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary. ^[1]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert B. Morgan	294,986	50.40%
	Democratic	Nick Galifianakis	189,815	32.43%
	Democratic	Henry Wilson	67,247	11.49%
	Democratic	James Johnson	6,138	1.05%
	Democratic	Others	27,140	4.64%
Total votes			585,326	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• William E. Stevens, furniture company executive ^[3]
• B. E. Sweatt
• Wood Hall Young

2.6% of the voting age population participated in the Republican primary. ^[1]

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William E. Stevens	62,419	65.12%
	Republican	Wood Hall Young	26,918	28.08%
	Republican	B. E. Sweatt	6,520	6.80%
Total votes			95,857	100.00%

General election

Results

1974 North Carolina U.S. Senate election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Robert B. Morgan	633,647	61.56%	1.00
	Republican	William Stevens	386,720	37.57%	1.87
	Other		8,974	0.87%	N/A
Total votes			1,029,341	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States Senate elections, 1974 and 1975

References

1. Steed, Moreland & Baker 1980, p. 28.
2. "North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
3. Associated Press (November 6, 1974). "Democrats Retain Ervin's Senate Seat" . The New York Times. p. 37. Retrieved April 6, 2025.

Works cited

• Steed, Robert; Moreland, Laurence; Baker, Tod, eds. (1980). Party Politics in the South. Praeger Publishers. ISBN   0030565863.