1974 Nevada gubernatorial election

1974 Nevada gubernatorial election

November 5, 1974 (1974-11-05)

Nominee Mike O'Callaghan Shirley Crumpler James Houston Party Democratic Republican Independent American Popular vote 114,114 28,959 26,285 Percentage 67.38% 17.10% 15.52%

County results O'Callaghan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Mike O'Callaghan Democratic Elected Governor Mike O'Callaghan Democratic

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.

Campaign

Democratic primary

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.

Republican primary

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. 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.

Other

The Independent American Party of Nevada nominated James R. Houston, a wealthy 38-year-old silver speculator, for governor.

General election

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. 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. O'Callaghan would defeat Crumpler by nearly 40% of the vote.

Results

Nevada gubernatorial election, 1974

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	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%
Majority			85,155	50.28%
Total votes			169,358	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing	+45.62%

County results

County	Mike O'Callaghan Democratic		Shirley Crumpler Republican		James Ray Houston Independent American		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Carson City	5,099	59.50%	1,723	20.11%	1,748	20.40%	3,351	39.10%	8,570
Churchill	2,806	65.01%	603	13.97%	907	21.01%	1,899	44.00%	4,316
Clark	56,614	69.28%	12,509	15.31%	12,589	15.41%	44,025	53.88%	81,712
Douglas	2,470	55.37%	1,270	28.47%	721	16.16%	1,200	26.90%	4,461
Elko	3,696	71.66%	873	16.93%	589	11.42%	2,823	54.73%	5,158
Esmeralda	237	59.10%	40	9.98%	124	30.92%	113	28.18%	401
Eureka	296	60.16%	126	25.61%	70	14.23%	170	34.55%	492
Humboldt	1,515	65.50%	487	21.05%	311	13.45%	1,028	44.44%	2,313
Lander	787	62.36%	201	15.93%	274	21.71%	513	40.65%	1,262
Lincoln	1,010	80.16%	149	11.83%	101	8.02%	861	68.33%	1,260
Lyon	2,696	67.70%	612	15.37%	674	16.93%	2,022	50.78%	3,982
Mineral	1,913	69.82%	314	11.46%	513	18.72%	1,400	51.09%	2,740
Nye	1,478	66.82%	342	15.46%	392	17.72%	1,086	49.10%	2,212
Pershing	816	65.49%	225	18.06%	205	16.45%	591	47.43%	1,246
Storey	419	68.46%	90	14.71%	103	16.83%	316	51.63%	612
Washoe	29,440	65.89%	8,815	19.73%	6,425	14.38%	20,625	46.16%	44,680
White Pine	2,822	71.61%	580	14.72%	539	13.68%	2,242	56.89%	3,941
Totals	114,114	67.38%	28,959	17.10%	26,285	15.52%	85,155	50.28%	169,358

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Carson City
• Douglas
• Eureka
• Washoe