The 1974 Nevada gubernatorial election occurred on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Democrat Mike O'Callaghan successfully ran for re-election to a second term as Governor of Nevada, defeating Republican nominee Shirley Crumpler and Independent American nominee James Hay Houston.
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County results O'Callaghan: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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There was no Democratic primary as the Nevada Democratic Party fully committed fully behind incumbent governor Mike O'Callaghan and expected an easy re-election due to O'Callaghan being young, just 45 at the time, and running a scandal-less first term, as well as being generally charismatic and likeable.[1]
Four Republicans sought their party's nod for nomination with two front runners; Bill Bickerstaff from Sparks and Shirley Crumpler a 39-year-old Las Vegas based real estate developer and tax consultant.[2] Crumpler would win and was the first woman ever nominated for Governor of Nevada and was also the first Republican woman ever nominated for Governor in the nation.[1][3][4]
The Independent American Party of Nevada nominated James R. Houston, a wealthy 38‐year‐old silver speculator, for governor.[1]
The central issue of the general election was the fact Crumpler was a woman, with Crumpler stating in an interview with The New York Times that convincing voters that a woman can handle the burden of holding political office just as much as a man to be "the hard part" of her campaign.[1] Crumpler centered her campaign on accusing O'Callaghan of neglecting his constituents during his election campaign, and that he only implements policy for popularity boosts for re-election.[5] O'Callaghan would defeat Crumpler by nearly 40% of the vote.[6]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Democratic | Mike O'Callaghan (inc.) | 114,114 | 67.38% | 19.28% | |
Republican | Shirley Crumpler | 28,959 | 17.10% | 26.71% | |
Independent American | James Ray Houston | 26,285 | 15.52% | 11.84% | |
N/A | Undervotes | 142 | 0.08% | 0.45% | |
Total votes | 169,473 | 100% | |||
Democratic hold | Swing | 3.42% |