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The 1974 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Initially considered a longshot candidate, Republican James B. Edwards defeated Democrat W. J. Bryan Dorn with a narrow majority of the vote.
Edwards' victory made him the first Republican since Daniel Henry Chamberlain in 1874 to win a gubernatorial election in South Carolina. It was also the closest gubernatorial election in South Carolina since the disputed election of 1876.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- L. Maurice Bessinger, barbecue proprietor and defendant in Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc.
- John Bolt Culbertson, former State Representative from Greenville and perennial candidate
- W.J. Bryan Dorn, U.S. Representative from Greenwood
- Milton J. Dukes
- Earle Morris Jr., Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
- Charles D. Ravenel, banker
- Eugene N. Ziegler
Campaign
Existing term limit restrictions made Governor John C. West ineligible to run for reelection. The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on July 16, 1974 . Charles D. Ravenel emerged as the winner of the runoff election, but the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Ravenel did not meet the five-year residency requirement in the state's constitution.
U.S. Representative W. J. Bryan Dorn was chosen in a special state convention to be the Democratic candidate in the general election for governor. Dorn, who had supported George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, was described by The New York Times as a "political maverick" who took a relatively liberal line on racial and religious issues.
| Democratic Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Charles D. Ravenel | 107,345 | 33.6 |
| W.J. Bryan Dorn | 105,743 | 33.1 |
| Earle E. Morris, Jr. | 80,292 | 25.2 |
| Eugene N. Zeigler | 11,091 | 3.5 |
| L. Maurice Bessinger | 7,883 | 2.5 |
| John Bolt Culbertson | 4,187 | 1.3 |
| Milton J. Dukes | 2,529 | 0.8 |
Results
| Democratic Primary Runoff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Charles D. Ravenel | 186,985 | 54.8 | +21.2 |
| W.J. Bryan Dorn | 154,187 | 45.2 | +12.1 |
Republican primary
Candidates
- James B. Edwards, State Senator from Charleston
- William Westmoreland, former Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Results
The South Carolina Republican Party held their primary on July 16, 1974 and the contest pitted state senator James B. Edwards against former Army Chief of Staff William Westmoreland. Edwards scored an upset victory in the first Republican primary of the state and earned the right to face Dorn in the general election.
| Republican Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| James B. Edwards | 20,177 | 57.7 |
| William Westmoreland | 14,777 | 42.3 |
General election
Candidates
- W.J. Bryan Dorn, U.S. Representative from Greenwood (Democratic)
- James B. Edwards, State Senator from Charleston (Republican)
- Peggy Jennings (Independent)
Results
The general election was held on November 5, 1974 and James B. Edwards defeated W.J. Bryan Dorn in what was a banner year for the Democrats in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Turnout was higher than the previous gubernatorial election because of the increasingly competitive nature of the race between the two parties.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James B. Edwards | 266,338 | 50.3 | +4.4 | |
| Democratic | W.J. Bryan Dorn | 248,861 | 47.0 | −5.1 | |
| Independent | Peggy Jennings | 8,313 | 1.6 | −0.4 | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 5,528 | 1.1 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 17,477 | 3.3 | −2.9 | ||
| Turnout | 529,040 | 53.0 | −1.2 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
See also
- Governor of South Carolina
- List of governors of South Carolina
- South Carolina gubernatorial elections
References
- Weber, Bruce (December 27, 2014). "James B. Edwards, a Long-Shot as Governor of South Carolina, Dies at 87". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- Times, B. Drummond Ayres Jr Special to The New York (November 1, 1974). "Ravenel's Backers Are Pivotal in South Carolina Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- Mordock, Will (June 23, 2010). "The saga of Pug Ravenel still resonates in state politics". Charleston City Paper. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
- Times, B. Drummond Ayres Jr Special to The New York (November 1, 1974). "Ravenel's Backers Are Pivotal in South Carolina Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- State Election Commission (1975). South Carolina Election Report 1974. Columbia, South Carolina: The Commission. p. 36.
- "How Counties Voted". The News and Courier. November 7, 1974. p. 17A.
External links
| Preceded by 1970 |
South Carolina gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 1978 |
| (1973 ←) 1974 United States elections (→ 1975) | |
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| See also: Political party strength in South Carolina | |
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