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County results Stone: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Eckerd: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Grady: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Florida |
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Government |
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 very well for a third-party candidate. 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 would be defeated by Gunter in the Democratic primary in 1980.
The Democratic primary consisted of a large field of 11 candidates. [1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Richard Stone | 236,185 | 29.80% | |
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 | Duaine E. Macon | 14,961 | 1.89% | |
Total votes | 782,106 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Richard Stone | 321,683 | 50.84% | |
Democratic | Bill Gunter | 311,044 | 49.16% | |
Total votes | 632,727 | 100.00% |
The Republican primary was a smaller affair than its Democratic counterpart with two candidates. [1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Jack Eckerd | 186,897 | 67.49% | |
Republican | Paula Hawkins | 90,049 | 32.52% | |
Total votes | 276,946 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Richard Stone | 781,031 | 43.38% | |
Republican | Jack Eckerd | 736,674 | 40.91% | |
American Independent | John Grady | 282,659 | 15.70% | |
Independent | Jim Fair | 117 | 0.01% | |
Independent | Henry J. Matthew | 35 | 0.00% | |
Independent | Hortense L. Arvan | 13 | 0.00% | |
Independent | Timothy L. "Tim" Adams | 10 | 0.00% | |
Majority | 44,357 | 3.32% | ||
Turnout | 1,800,539 | |||
Democratic gain from Republican |
An "Independent" Democrat, on leave from Florida Atlantic University, Justin has had previous governmental experience as a member of the Arizona state Legislature.
But it was Dr. John Grady, a 50-year-old physician and three-time mayor of the sugar belt town of Belle Glade, who played the role of political spoiler in Florida.