The 1974 United States House of Representatives election in Georgia's 6th congressional district was the election for the Representative of Georgia's 6th district to the United States House of Representatives which was held on November 5, 1974. This election is notable for being the beginning of a political career of a then-little known professor from the University of West Georgia and future

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...

. Incumbent Representative John J. Flynt in his previous nine runs had never faced any serious challenge, winning re-election in 1972 without any formal opposition. However, in 1974, he was nearly defeated by political newcomer Newt Gingrich. This came as a considerable surprise. Flynt was known as one of the most

conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with conservative political views, or with views that are conservative compared to the positions taken by other members of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, co ...

s in the House, and 1974 was a very poor year for Republicans nationally due to fallout from

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

. Gingrich would face Flynt in another close race in 1976, but come short again. Flynt would retire in 1978 rather than fight another close match (and possibly unsuccessful re-election bid) with Gingrich, thus finally giving Republicans a victory in a district that had not elected a Republican to the House of Representatives since Reconstruction.

References

{{Newt Gingrich Georgia

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

Newt Gingrich 1974 Georgia (U.S. state) elections

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References