1974 United States Senate election in Florida

The 1974 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Senator Edward Gurney, a Republican, declined to seek a second term after being indicted for taking bribes in return for his influence with the Federal Housing Administration. The primary for the Republican nomination pitted Eckerd drug store owner Jack Eckerd against Florida Public Service Commissioner Paula Hawkins. Eckerd won handily, receiving approximately 67.5% of the vote. The Democratic primary, however, was a crowded field with eleven candidates vying for the nomination. Because no candidate received a majority of the votes, U.S. Representative Bill Gunter and Secretary of State of Florida Richard Stone advanced to a run-off election. Stone won by a small margin of 1.68%.

Thus, Eckerd and Stone faced off in the general election. John Grady, a family physician and member of George Wallace's American Independent Party, performed exceptionally well for a third party candidate. Grady may have split the conservative vote, allowing for Stone to win. On election day, Stone received 43.38% of the vote, Eckerd garnered 40.91% of the vote, and Grady acquired 15.7% of the vote. Stone served only one term in the Senate and was defeated by Hawkins in 1980.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Bob Brewster
George Balmer, Republican U.S. Senate candidate in 1970
Bill Gunter, U.S. Representative from Florida's 5th congressional district
David B. Higginbottom, lawyer and candidate for the Florida House of Representatives in 1954 and 1956
Mallory Horne, President of the Florida Senate and former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Neal Justin, Florida Atlantic University professor
Duaine E. Macon, real estate salesman
Richard A. Pettigrew, Florida State Senator and former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Richard Stone, Secretary of State of Florida
Glenn W. Turner, super salesman
Burton Young, President of the Florida Bar

Campaign

Results

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Stone	236,185	29.8
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	157,301	19.85
	Democratic	Richard A. Pettigrew	146,728	18.51
	Democratic	Mallory Horne	90,684	11.44
	Democratic	Glenn W. Turner	51,326	6.48
	Democratic	George Balmer	24,408	3.08
	Democratic	Burton Young	23,199	2.93
	Democratic	Bob Brewster	19,913	2.51
	Democratic	David B. Higginbottom	17,401	1.64
	Democratic	Neal E. Justin	108,154	2.2
	Democratic	Duaine E. Macon	14,961	1.89
Total votes			782,106	100

Run-off

Bill Gunter
Richard Stone

Democratic primary runoff results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Stone	321,683	50.84
	Democratic	Bill Gunter	311,044	49.16
Total votes			632,727	100

Republican primary

Candidates

Jack Eckerd, founder of Eckerd Corporation and 1966 gubernatorial candidate
Paula Hawkins, Florida Public Service Commissioner

Campaign

Results

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jack Eckerd	186,897	67.49
	Republican	Paula Hawkins	90,049	32.52
Total votes			276,946	100

Third parties and Independents

Timothy L. "Tim" Adams
Hortense L. Arvan
Jim Fair, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections
John Grady, American Independent Party, family physician
Henry J. Matthews

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Results

General election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Stone	781,031	43.38%	N/A
	Republican	Jack Eckerd	736,674	40.91%	N/A
	American Independent Party	John Grady	282,659	15.7%	N/A
	Independent (politician)	Jim Fair	117	0.01%	N/A
	Independent (politician)	Henry J. Matthew	35	0%	N/A
	Independent (politician)	Hortense L. Arvan	13	0%	N/A
	Independent (politician)	Timothy L. "Tim" Adams	10	0%	N/A
Majority			44,357	3.32%	N/A
Turnout			1,800,539		N/A
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

References

External links

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