# 1972 North Carolina gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 1972 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Republican nominee James Holshouser defeated Democratic nominee Skipper Bowles with 51% of the vote. Holshouser thus became the first Republican elected governor of the state since 1896.
This election was also the first time in a century (since the 1872 election) that a Republican candidate won an outright majority of the vote.

## Primary elections

Primary elections were held on May 6, 1972.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates

* Skipper Bowles, State Senator
* Hoyt Patrick Taylor Jr., incumbent Lieutenant Governor
* Reginald A. Hawkins, civil rights activist and dentist
* Wilbur Hobby, labor union leader
* C. Eugene Leggett
* Zeb V.K. Dickson
22.8% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Skipper Bowles | 367,433 | 45.47 |
| | Democratic | Hoyt Patrick Taylor Jr. | 304,910 | 37.73 |
| | Democratic | Reginald A. Hawkins | 65,950 | 8.16 |
| | Democratic | Wilbur Hobby | 58,990 | 7.30 |
| | Democratic | C. Eugene Leggett | 6,352 | 0.79 |
| | Democratic | Zeb V.K. Dickson | 4,470 | 0.55 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 808,105 | 100.00 |
Democratic primary runoff results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Skipper Bowles | 336,034 | 54.34 |
| | Democratic | Hoyt Patrick Taylor Jr. | 282,345 | 45.66 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 618,379 | 100.00 |

### Republican primary
#### Candidates

* James Holshouser, State Representative
* Jim Gardner, former U.S. Representative
* Leroy Gibson
* Thomas E. Chappell
4.9% of the voting age population participated in the Republican primary.

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jim Gardner | 84,906 | 49.77 |
| | Republican | James Holshouser | 83,637 | 49.03 |
| | Republican | Leroy Gibson | 1,083 | 0.64 |
| | Republican | Thomas E. Chappell | 957 | 0.56 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 170,583 | 100.00 |
Republican primary runoff results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | James Holshouser | 69,916 | 50.65 |
| | Republican | Jim Gardner | 68,134 | 49.36 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 138,050 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

Major party candidates
* James Holshouser, Republican
* Skipper Bowles, Democratic
Other candidates
* Arlis F. Pettyjohn, American

### Results

1972 North Carolina gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | James Holshouser | 767,470 | 51.00% |
| | Democratic | Skipper Bowles | 729,104 | 48.45% |
| | American | Arlis F. Pettyjohn | 8,211 | 0.55% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 38,366 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,504,785 | |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | |