1974 Arizona gubernatorial election

The 1974 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Governor Jack Williams decided not to run for a fourth term as governor. Former United States Ambassador to Bolivia Raúl Héctor Castro, who was the Democratic nominee in 1970, won the Democratic nomination again in 1974, and narrowly won the general election, defeating Republican nominee Russell Williams by 0.85%. Castro was sworn into his first and only term as governor on January 6, 1975.

1974 Arizona gubernatorial election

← 1970 November 5, 1974 1978 →
 
Nominee Raúl Héctor Castro Russell Williams
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 278,375 273,674
Percentage 50.4% 49.6%

County results
Castro:      50–60%      60–70%
Williams:      50–60%

Governor before election

Jack Williams
Republican

Elected Governor

Raúl Héctor Castro
Democratic

Prior to the election, there was a recall effort led by Cesar Chavez against incumbent Governor Jack Williams, with 180,000 signatures submitted. Many of the signatures were invalidated by the Attorney General Gary Nelson, but this was eventually overturned. By the time this occurred, however, it was meaningless due to the close proximity of the 1974 gubernatorial election, and thus a recall election did not occur.[1]

Approximately two years into his term as governor, Castro would resign to become United States Ambassador to Argentina.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Russell Williams 53,132 35.57%
Republican Evan Mecham 30,266 20.26%
Republican William C. Jacquin 27,138 18.17%
Republican John D. Driggs 23,519 15.75%
Republican Milton H. Graham 15,315 10.25%
Total votes 149,370 100.00%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • Raúl Héctor Castro, former United States Ambassador to Bolivia, Democratic nominee for governor in 1970
  • Jack Ross, car dealer
  • Dave Moss, real estate broker
  • Walter "Denver" Caudill, Tubac Country Club golf professional

Results

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Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Raúl Héctor Castro 115,268 67.21%
Democratic Jack Ross 31,250 18.22%
Democratic Dave Moss 19,143 11.16%
Democratic Walter "Denver" Caudill 5,843 3.41%
Total votes 171,504 100.00%

General election

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Results

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Arizona gubernatorial election, 1974[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Raúl Héctor Castro 278,375 50.41% +1.30%
Republican Russell Williams 273,674 49.56% −1.33%
Independent Russell Shaw (write-in) 149 0.03%
Independent Harold Bates (write-in) 4 0.00%
Majority 4,701 0.85%
Total votes 552,202 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing +2.63%

Results by county

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County Raúl Héctor Castro
Democratic
Russell Williams
Republican
Russell Shaw
Write-in
Harold Bates
Write-in
Margin Total votes
cast[3]
# % # % # % # % # %
Apache 4,482 69.11% 2,003 30.89% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,479 38.23% 6,485
Cochise 8,779 53.28% 7,695 46.70% 2 0.01% 0 0.00% 1,084 6.58% 16,476
Coconino 9,601 59.69% 6,483 40.30% 1 0.01% 0 0.00% 3,118 19.38% 16,085
Gila 5,056 55.73% 4,015 44.26% 1 0.01% 0 0.00% 1,041 11,47% 9,072
Graham 2,379 46.19% 2,772 53.81% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -393 -7.63% 5,151
Greenlee 2,262 61.82% 1,397 38.18% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 865 23.64% 3,659
Maricopa 139,222 44.84% 171,111 55.11% 135 0.04% 4 0.00% -31,889 -10.27% 310,472
Mohave 4,623 50.92% 4,449 49.00% 7 0.08% 0 0.00% 174 1.92% 9,079
Navajo 6,440 56.80% 4,899 43.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,541 13.59% 11,339
Pima 70,919 61.73% 43,962 38.27% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 26,957 23.47% 114,881
Pinal 9,405 56.52% 7,235 43.48% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,170 13.04% 16,640
Santa Cruz 2,238 66.37% 1,134 33.63% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,104 32.74% 3,372
Yavapai 7,148 43.10% 9,432 56.88% 3 0.02% 0 0.00% -2,284 -13.77% 16,583
Yuma 5,821 45.10% 7,087 54.90% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -1,266 -9.81% 12,908
Totals 278,375 50.41% 273,674 49.56% 149 0.03% 4 0.00% 4,701 0.85% 552,202

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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References

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  1. ^ "Help Center - the Arizona Republic".
  2. ^ a b "State of Arizona Official Canvass Primary Election - September 10, 1974". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "State of Arizona Official Canvass General Election - November 5, 1974". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 13, 2024.