1974 South Carolina gubernatorial election
November 5, 1974
 
Nominee James B. Edwards W.J. Bryan Dorn
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 266,338 248,861
Percentage 50.3% 47.0%
County results
Edwards:      50–60%      60–70%
Dorn:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Governor before election

John Carl West
Democratic

 Elected Governor

James B. Edwards
Republican

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,[1] 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

Existing term limit restrictions made Governor John C. West ineligible to run for reelection.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

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
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

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

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.

South Carolina Gubernatorial Election, 1974
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
1974 South Carolina gubernatorial election map, by percentile by county.
  65+% won by Edwards
  60%-64% won by Edwards
  55%-59% won by Edwards
  50%-54% won by Edwards
  <50% won by Edwards
  50%-54% won by Dorn
  55%-59% won by Dorn
  60%-64% won by Dorn
  65+% won by Dorn

See also

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
Preceded by
1970		 South Carolina gubernatorial elections Succeeded by
1978


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