# 1974 Georgia gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 1974 Georgia gubernatorial election 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 was elected President of the United States in the 1976 presidential election. George Busbee was elected as the 77th Governor of Georgia.

## Democratic nomination
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* George Busbee, state representative

#### Eliminated in runoff

* Lester Maddox, lieutenant governor (1971–1975) and former governor (1967–1971)

#### Eliminated in primary

* David H. Gambrell, former U.S. senator from Georgia (1971–1972)
* Bud Herrin
* Thomas J. Irwin
* Harry C. Jackson, former state senator (1961–1973)
* Bert Lance, businessman
* B. J. Parker
* Robert A. Rowan, state senator (1963–1975)
* George T. Smith, former lieutenant governor (1967–1971)
* Jennings Thompson
* Ronnie Thompson, Mayor of Macon, Georgia (1967–1975)

### Democratic primary election results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Lester Maddox | 310,384 | 36.32 |
| Democratic | George Busbee | 177,977 | 20.83 |
| Democratic | Bert Lance | 147,026 | 17.20 |
| Democratic | David H. Gambrell | 66,000 | 7.72 |
| Democratic | George T. Smith | 43,196 | 5.05 |
| Democratic | Harry C. Jackson | 42,121 | 4.93 |
| Democratic | Robert A. Rowan | 31,696 | 3.71 |
| Democratic | Ronnie Thompson | 23,933 | 2.80 |
| Democratic | B. J. Parker | 4,650 | 0.54 |
| Democratic | Bud Herrin | 3,419 | 0.40 |
| Democratic | Thomas J. Irwin | 2,224 | 0.26 |
| Democratic | Jennings Thompson | 1,987 | 0.23 |

### Democratic runoff results

Democratic runoff results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George Busbee | 551,106 | 59.86 |
| | Democratic | Lester Maddox | 369,608 | 40.14 |

## Republican nomination
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Ronnie Thompson, Mayor of Macon, Georgia (1967–1975)

#### Eliminated in runoff

* Harold Dye, army veteran

#### Eliminated in primary

* W. M. "Bill" Coolidge
* Harry Geisinger, state representative (1969–1975)
* George Lankford

### Republican primary election results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Ronnie Thompson | 19,691 | 41.00 |
| Republican | Harold Dye | 10,912 | 22.72 |
| Republican | George Lankford | 8,618 | 17.95 |
| Republican | Harry Geisinger | 6,078 | 12.66 |
| Republican | Bill Coolidge | 2,723 | 5.67 |

### Republican runoff results

Republican runoff results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Ronnie Thompson | 22,211 | 50.62 |
| | Republican | Harold Dye | 21,669 | 49.38 |

## General election results

In a year marred for the Republicans 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 (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. 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 was elected as lieutenant governor, serving for 16 years. As of 2022, this is the last time that Clayton County voted for the Republican candidate for governor.
Georgia gubernatorial election, 1974 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | George Busbee | 646,777 | 69.07% |
| Republican | Ronnie Thompson | 289,113 | 30.87% |
| Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | |