1974 Texas gubernatorial election

Summary

The 1974 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Democratic Governor Dolph Briscoe was easily re-elected to a second term, winning 61% of the vote to the 31% of Republican Jim Granberry, the former mayor of Lubbock. Raza Unida candidate Ramsey Muniz won 6%, while the remaining 2% were cast for other candidates.[1]

1974 Texas gubernatorial election

← 1972 November 5, 1974 1978 →
 
Nominee Dolph Briscoe Jim Granberry Ramsey Muñiz
Party Democratic Republican Raza Unida
Popular vote 1,016,334 514,725 93,295
Percentage 61.4% 31.1% 5.6%

County results
Briscoe:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Granberry:      50–60%
Muñiz:      50–60%

Governor before election

Dolph Briscoe
Democratic

Elected Governor

Dolph Briscoe
Democratic

Briscoe was sworn in for his second term on January 21, 1975. As the Constitution of Texas had been amended in 1972 to extend the governor's term from 2 years to 4 years, Briscoe became the first governor to be sworn in for a four-year term since Edmund J. Davis.

Briscoe carried 249 out of 254 counties in his landslide reelection victory. As of 2023, this remains the last time that a Democrat was reelected as Governor of Texas, and the last time a Democrat carried Dallam, Sherman, Hansford, Lipscomb, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Roberts, Gray, Moore, Hartley, Potter, Armstrong, Deaf Smith, Parmer, Bailey, Hale, Yoakum, Borden, Scurry, Andrews, Ector, Midland, Loving, Glasscock, Sterling, Tom Green, Irion, Crockett, Jeff Davis, Taylor, Cooke, Denton, Collin, Rockwall, Gregg, Rusk, Montgomery, Aransas, Victoria, DeWitt, McMullen, Live Oak, Guadalupe, Comal, Kendall, Bandera, Kerr, Edwards, Blanco, Gillespie, Mason, Kimble, and Sutton counties.

Primaries edit

Republican edit

Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Granberry 53,617 77.59%
Republican Odell McBrayer 15,484 22.41%
Total votes 69,101 100.00%

Democratic edit

Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dolph Briscoe (Inc.) 1,025,632 67.42%
Democratic Frances Farenthold 437,287 28.47%
Democratic William H. Posey 31,498 2.07%
Democratic Steve S. Alexander 26,889 1.77%
Total votes 1,521,306 100.00%

Results edit

 
Results for Raza Unida by County:
Muñiz
  •      0–5%
  •      5–10%
  •      10–15%
  •      15–20%
  •      20–25%
  •      25–30%
  •      >30%
General Election Results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dolph Briscoe (Inc.) 1,016,334 61.41%
Republican Jim Granberry 514,725 31.07%
Raza Unida Ramsey Muniz 93,295 5.63%
American Independent S. W. McDonnell 22,208 1.34%
Socialist Workers Sherry Smith 8,171 0.49%
Total votes 1,654,984 100.00%
Democratic hold

References edit

  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - TX Governor Race - Nov 05, 1974". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved March 31, 2020.