1974 Texas gubernatorial election

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]

Quick facts Nominee, Party ...

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

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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.