1974 Nevada gubernatorial election

← 1970

November 5, 1974 (1974-11-05)

1978 →


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

Federal government

State government

General
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Gubernatorial
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Reno

Mayoral
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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.^[1]

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.^[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]

Other

The Independent American Party of Nevada nominated James R. Houston, a wealthy 38‐year‐old silver speculator, for governor.^[1]

General election

The central issue of the general election was the fact Crumpler was a women, with Crumpler stating in an interview with The New York Times that convincing voters that a women 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]

Results

Nevada gubernatorial election, 1974^[7]
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%
	N/A	Undervotes	142	0.08%	0.45%
Total votes			169,473	100%
	Democratic hold		Swing	3.42%

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Malcolm, Andrew H. "Laxalt Hopes for Comeback in Nevada In Attempt to Succeed Bible in Senate". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
^ "front page Sept 4, 1974". Reno Gazette-Journal. Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
^ "LIEUT. GOV. REID WINS IN NEVADA". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
^ "Woman, 39, Wins the Republican Primary for Governor in Nevada". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
^ "Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 42". Reno Gazette-Journal. Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
^ Turner, Wallace. "West: California and Colorado Pace the Democrats". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
^ "1974 General Election Returns". Nevada Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.

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