1974 South Carolina gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1974 South Carolina gubernatorial election South Carolina presidential no 1970 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1970 1978 South Carolina gubernatorial election 1978 November 5, 1974 Image:U.S. Secretary of Energy James Edwards of South Carolina (cropped).jpg 150x150px James B. Edwards Republican Party (United States) 266,338 50.34% File:W. J. Bryan Dorn.jpg W.J. Bryan Dorn Democratic Party (United States) 248,861 47.04% 1974 South Carolina gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 230px County resultsEdwards: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70%Dorn: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% Governor John Carl West Democratic Party (United States) James B. Edwards Republican Party (United States) 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,Weber Bruce 2014-12-27 James B. Edwards, a Long-Shot as Governor of South Carolina, Dies at 87 en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/us/politics/james-b-edwards-a-long-shot-as-governor-of-south-carolina-dies-at-87.html 2022-02-13 0362-4331 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.Ayres Jr B. Drummond 1974-11-01 Ravenel's Backers Are Pivotal in South Carolina Race en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/01/archives/ravenels-backers-are-pivotal-in-south-carolina-race.html 2022-02-13 0362-4331 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.http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/the-saga-of-pug-ravenel-still-resonates-in-state-politics/Content?oid=2088000 2 November 2014 23 June 2010 The saga of Pug Ravenel still resonates in state politics Mordock Will Charleston City Paper 2 November 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141102142113/http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/the-saga-of-pug-ravenel-still-resonates-in-state-politics/Content?oid=2088000 dead 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. B. Drummond Ayres Jr 1974-11-01 Ravenel's Backers Are Pivotal in South Carolina Race en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/01/archives/ravenels-backers-are-pivotal-in-south-carolina-race.html 2022-02-13 0362-4331 Democratic primaryCandidateVotes% 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 runoffCandidateVotes%±% 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 primaryCandidateVotes% 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. 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. South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1974 Republican Party (United States) James B. Edwards 266,338 50.34 +4.4 Democratic Party (United States) W.J. Bryan Dorn 248,861 47.04 -5.1 Independent Peggy Jennings 8,313 1.57 -0.4 No party Write-Ins 5,528 1.05 +1.1 17,477 3.30 -2.9 529,040 53.02 -1.2 |- | Republican Party (United States) | colspan=5 |Republican gain from Democratic |- See also List of governors of South Carolina South Carolina gubernatorial elections References State Election Commission South Carolina Election Report 1974 1975 The Commission Columbia, South Carolina 36 How Counties Voted The News and Courier 7 November 1974 17A External links SCIway Biography of Governor James Burrows Edwards 1970 South Carolina gubernatorial elections 1978 1974 Category:1974 United States gubernatorial elections Gubernatorial Category:November 1974 elections in the United States Category:Long stubs with short prose