The 1974 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974. Under Georgia's constitution at the time, incumbent Democratic governor

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

was ineligible to serve a second consecutive term, and was in the process of launching his presidential campaign.

George Busbee George Dekle Busbee Sr. (August 7, 1927 – July 16, 2004) was an American politician who served as the 77th governor of Georgia from 1975 to 1983. Early life Born in Vienna, Georgia, Busbee attended Georgia Military College and Abraham Baldwin A ...

was elected as the 77th Governor of Georgia.

Democratic nomination

Candidates

Nominee

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Eliminated in runoff

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Southern Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist, when ...

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

(1971–1975) and former governor (1967–1971)

Eliminated in primary

* David H. Gambrell, former

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

(1971–1972) *Bud Herrin *Thomas J. Irwin * Harry C. Jackson, former

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

(1961–1973) *

Bert Lance Thomas Bertram "Bert" Lance (June 3, 1931 – August 15, 2013) was an American businessman who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter in 1977. He is known mainly for resigning from the Carter admini ...

, businessman *B. J. Parker * Robert A. Rowan,

(1963–1975) *

George T. Smith George Thornewell Smith (October 15, 1916 – August 23, 2010) was an American US Democratic Party, Democratic Party politician and jurist from the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, sixth Lieutenant Govern ...

, former

(1967–1971) *Jennings Thompson * Ronnie Thompson,

Mayor of Macon, Georgia The Mayor of Macon-Bibb County is the highest elected official in the consolidated city-county government of Macon and Bibb County, Georgia. The county was established in 1822, while the city was incorporated in 1823. Heads of the city were kno ...

(1967–1975)

Democratic primary election results

Democratic runoff results

Republican nomination

Candidates

Nominee

* Ronnie Thompson,

(1967–1975)

Eliminated in runoff

*Harold Dye,

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

veteran

Eliminated in primary

*W. M. "Bill" Coolidge * Harry Geisinger,

(1969–1975) *George Lankford

Republican primary election results

Republican runoff results

General election results

In a year marred for the Republicans by

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's resignation just three months earlier, alongside the continued domination of Georgia by the Democratic Party and Thompson's dividing of the GOP (a move which inspired many prominent figures in the Georgia party to refrain from openly supporting him), Busbee was elected in a landslide. Douglas and Clayton County were the only two counties where Thompson won the most votes.1974 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Georgia
/ref> Two years later, a revision of the Georgia Constitution was done that included a rule to allow a Governor to be elected to a second consecutive term. Subsequently, Busbee ran for Governor again four years later.

Zell Miller Zell Bryan Miller (February 24, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 79th governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States senator representing the state from 2000 to 2005. He was a member of the Dem ...

was elected as

, serving for 16 years. As of 2022, this is the last time that Clayton County voted for the Republican candidate for governor.

References

{{1974 United States elections

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

November 1974 in the United States August 1974 in the United States September 1974 in the United States