1974 United States Senate election in Florida

none March 2026 September 2023 1974 United States Senate election in Florida Florida 1900 presidential no 1968 United States Senate election in Florida 1968 1980 United States Senate election in Florida 1980 November 5, 1974 125x136px Richardbernardstone.jpg Richard Stone Democratic Party (United States) 781,031 43.38% Jack Eckerd (cropped).jpg Jack Eckerd Republican Party (United States) 736,674 40.91% 3x4.svg John Grady American Independent Party 282,659 15.70% U.S. Senator Edward Gurney Republican Party (United States) Richard Stone Democratic Party (United States) 1974 United States Senate election in Florida results map by county.svg County resultsStone: #bdd3ff 30–40% #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70%Eckerd: #ffc8cd 30–40% #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70%Grady: #FFCCAA 40–50% The 1974 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Senator Edward Gurney, a Republican, declined to seek a second term after being indicted for taking bribes in return for his influence with the Federal Housing Administration. The primary for the Republican nomination pitted Eckerd drug store owner Jack Eckerd against Florida Public Service Commissioner Paula Hawkins. Eckerd won handily, receiving approximately 67.5% of the vote. The Democratic primary, however, was a crowded field, with eleven candidates vying for the nomination. Because no candidate received a majority of the votes, U.S. Representative Bill Gunter and Secretary of State of Florida Richard Stone advanced to a run-off election. Stone won by a small margin of 1.68%. Thus, Eckerd and Stone faced off in the general election. John Grady, a family physician and member of George Wallace's American Independent Party, performed very well for a third-party candidate. On election day, Stone received 43.38% of the vote, Eckerd garnered 40.91% of the vote, and Grady acquired 15.7% of the vote. Stone served only one term in the Senate and would be defeated by Gunter in the Democratic primary in 1980. Democratic primary July 2025 Template that shows Democratic Party primary election results are disputed; it doesn't show some candidates and accurate vote shares: https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=337538 The Democratic primary consisted of a large field of 11 candidates.Two Republicans, 11 Democrats in Senate Race September 1, 1973 Sarasota Herald-Tribune Google Newspapers March 11, 2024 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19740901&id=B_wjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=62YEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5866,535829&hl=en 13.6% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.Steed Moreland Baker 1980 26 Candidates George Balmer, body shop owner and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 1970 Bob Brewster Bill Gunter, incumbent U.S. representative from Orlando David B. Higginbottom, lawyer and candidate for the Florida House of Representatives in 1954 and 1956 Mallory Horne, incumbent president of the Florida Senate Neal Justin, professor at Florida Atlantic University and former member of the Arizona House of RepresentativesCrowley Brian Justin Storms Cafeteria Beachcomber September 9, 1974 Palm Beach Junior College March 15, 2024 https://archive.org/details/Beachcomber_253/page/n3/mode/2up?q=%22Neal+Justin%22 Internet Archive An "Independent" Democrat, on leave from Florida Atlantic University, Justin has had previous governmental experience as a member of the Arizona state Legislature. Duaine E. Macon, real estate salesman Richard A. Pettigrew, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Richard Stone, incumbent secretary of state of Florida Glenn W. Turner, owner of multi-level marketing companies Burton Young, president of the Florida Bar Democratic primary results Richard Stone Democratic Party (United States) 236,185 29.80% Bill Gunter Democratic Party (United States) 157,301 19.85% Richard A. Pettigrew Democratic Party (United States) 146,728 18.51% Mallory Horne Democratic Party (United States) 90,684 11.44% Glenn W. Turner Democratic Party (United States) 51,326 6.48% George Balmer Democratic Party (United States) 24,408 3.08% Burton Young Democratic Party (United States) 23,199 2.93% Bob Brewster Democratic Party (United States) 19,913 2.51% David B. Higginbottom Democratic Party (United States) 17,401 1.64% Duaine E. Macon Democratic Party (United States) 14,961 1.89% 782,106 100.00% Democratic primary runoff results Richard Stone Democratic Party (United States) 321,683 50.84% Bill Gunter Democratic Party (United States) 311,044 49.16% 632,727 100.00% Republican primary The Republican primary was a smaller affair than its Democratic counterpart, with two candidates. 4.7% of the voting-age population participated in the Republican primary.Steed Moreland Baker 1980 26 Candidates Jack Eckerd, founder of Eckerd Corporation and 1966 gubernatorial candidate Paula Hawkins, Florida public service commissioner Results Republican primary results Jack Eckerd Republican Party (United States) 186,897 67.49% Paula Hawkins Republican Party (United States) 90,049 32.52% 276,946 100.00% General election Candidates Timothy L. "Tim" Adams (Independent) Hortense L. Arvan (Independent) Jack Eckerd, founder of Eckerd Corporation and 1966 gubernatorial candidate (Republican) Jim Fair, Hillsborough County supervisor of elections (Independent) John Grady, mayor of Belle Glade and family physician (American Independent Party)Staff Report Askew: Florida Voters 'Never Had It So Good' Panama City News-Herald November 7, 1974 March 11, 2024 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1388460/ Newspapers.com But it was Dr. John Grady, a 50-year-old physician and three-time mayor of the sugar belt town of Belle Glade, who played the role of political spoiler in Florida. Henry J. Matthews (Independent) Richard Stone, secretary of state of Florida (Democratic) Results General election results Democratic Party (United States) Richard Stone 781,031 43.38% N/A Republican Party (United States) Jack Eckerd 736,674 40.91% American Independent Party John Grady 282,659 15.70% Independent Jim Fair 117 0.01% Independent Henry J. Matthew 35 0.00% Independent Hortense L. Arvan 13 0.00% N/A Independent Timothy L. "Tim" Adams 10 0.00% 44,357 3.32% N/A 1,800,539 N/A Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) See also United States Senate elections, 1974 and 1975 References Works cited Steed Robert Moreland Laurence Baker Tod Party Politics in the South Praeger Publishers 1980 0030565863 Florida 1974 United States Senate