Georgia gubernatorial election, 1974

Georgia gubernatorial election of 1974

November 5, 1974

Nominee George Busbee Ronnie Thompson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 646,777 289,113 Percentage 69.07% 30.87%

Governor before election Jimmy Carter Democratic Elected Governor George Busbee Democratic

Elections in Georgia
Federal government Presidential elections 1788-89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Presidential primaries Democratic 2008 Republican 2008 U.S. Senate elections 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 U.S. House elections 1974 6th 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 4th 8th 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Special elections 10th district, 2007 9th district, 2010 6th district, 2017
State government Gubernatorial elections 1948 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Other elections 2006 Statewide 2008 Statewide 2010 Statewide 2006 2008 2010 2014 General Assembly elections 2010
Ballot measures 2004 Amendment 1
Atlanta government Mayoral elections 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017

The Georgia gubernatorial election of 1974 was held on November 5, 1974. Under Georgia's constitution at the time, incumbent Democratic governor Jimmy Carter was ineligible to serve a second consecutive term. He would later go on to be elected President of the United States in the 1976 presidential election. George Busbee was elected as the 77th Governor of Georgia.

Democratic nomination

In the primary, Lieutenant Governor (and former Governor) Lester Maddox won a plurality with 310,384 votes (36.32%). George Busbee finished 2nd with 177,997 votes (20.83%), edging out Bert Lance who had 147,026 votes (17.20%).^[1]

In the runoff, Busbee defeated Maddox 551,106 (59.8 percent) to 369,608 (40.1 percent).^[2]

Notably, Ronnie Thompson won 21,848 votes in the original primary, due to him cross-filing and running in both primary elections.

Republican nomination

In the primary, Thompson (who had been the first GOP member to be elected of Macon, Georgia) won a plurality 17,830 votes (41 percent) over 2nd-place finisher Harold Dye and his 9,870 votes(23 percent) and George Lankford's 8,618 votes (17.95%).^[3]

In the runoff, Thompson won with 22,211 votes (50.6 percent) to Dye's 21,669 votes (49.3 percent).^[4]

General election results

In a year marred by Richard Nixon's resignation just three months earlier alongside the continued domination of Georgia by the Democratic Party and Thompson's dividing of the GOP that inspired leaders in the party to not openly support him, Busbee was elected in a landslide. Douglas and Clayton County were the only two counties that Thompson won the most votes in.^[5] Two years later, a revision of the Georgia Constitution was done that included a rule to allow a Governor to be elected to a consecutive term. Subsequently, Busbee ran for Governor again four years later. Zell Miller was elected as lieutenant governor, serving for 16 years.

References