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