1974 Georgia gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1974 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 1974 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1974. Under Georgia's constitution at the time, incumbent Democratic governor Jimmy Carter was ineligible to serve a second consecutive term, and was in the process of launching his presidential campaign. George Busbee was elected as the 77th Governor of Georgia.

1974 Georgia gubernatorial election

← 1970 November 5, 1974 1978 →

Nominee George Busbee Ronnie Thompson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 646,777 289,113 Percentage 69.1% 30.9%

County results Busbee:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Thompson:      50–60%

Governor before election Jimmy Carter Democratic Elected Governor George Busbee Democratic

Democratic nomination

Candidates

Nominee

• George Busbee, state representative

Eliminated in runoff

• Lester Maddox, lieutenant governor (1971–1975) and former governor (1967–1971)

Eliminated in primary

• David H. Gambrell, former U.S. senator from Georgia (1971–1972)
• Bud Herrin
• Thomas J. Irwin
• Harry C. Jackson, former state senator (1961–1973)
• Bert Lance, businessman
• B. J. Parker
• Robert A. Rowan, state senator (1963–1975)
• George T. Smith, former lieutenant governor (1967–1971)
• Jennings Thompson
• Ronnie Thompson, Mayor of Macon, Georgia (1967–1975)

Democratic primary election results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lester Maddox	310,384	36.32
	Democratic	George Busbee	177,977	20.83
	Democratic	Bert Lance	147,026	17.20
	Democratic	David H. Gambrell	66,000	7.72
	Democratic	George T. Smith	43,196	5.05
	Democratic	Harry C. Jackson	42,121	4.93
	Democratic	Robert A. Rowan	31,696	3.71
	Democratic	Ronnie Thompson	23,933	2.80
	Democratic	B. J. Parker	4,650	0.54
	Democratic	Bud Herrin	3,419	0.40
	Democratic	Thomas J. Irwin	2,224	0.26
	Democratic	Jennings Thompson	1,987	0.23

Democratic runoff results

Democratic runoff results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George Busbee	551,106	59.86
	Democratic	Lester Maddox	369,608	40.14

Republican nomination

Candidates

Nominee

• Ronnie Thompson, Mayor of Macon, Georgia (1967–1975)

Eliminated in runoff

• Harold Dye, army veteran

Eliminated in primary

• W. M. "Bill" Coolidge
• Harry Geisinger, state representative (1969–1975)
• George Lankford

Republican primary election results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ronnie Thompson	19,691	41.00
	Republican	Harold Dye	10,912	22.72
	Republican	George Lankford	8,618	17.95
	Republican	Harry Geisinger	6,078	12.66
	Republican	Bill Coolidge	2,723	5.67

Republican runoff results

Republican runoff results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ronnie Thompson	22,211	50.62
	Republican	Harold Dye	21,669	49.38

General election results

In a year marred for the Republicans by Richard Nixon's resignation just three months earlier, alongside the continued domination of Georgia by the Democratic Party and Thompson's dividing of the GOP (a move which inspired many prominent figures in the Georgia party to refrain from openly supporting him), Busbee was elected in a landslide. Douglas and Clayton County were the only two counties where Thompson won the most votes.^[5] Two years later, a revision of the Georgia Constitution was done that included a rule to allow a Governor to be elected to a second consecutive term. Subsequently, Busbee ran for Governor again four years later. Zell Miller was elected as lieutenant governor, serving for 16 years. As of 2022, this is the last time that Clayton County voted for the Republican candidate for governor.

Georgia gubernatorial election, 1974^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George Busbee	646,777	69.07%
	Republican	Ronnie Thompson	289,113	30.87%
	Democratic hold		Swing