The 1974 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 5. Incumbent Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Milton Shapp Milton Jerrold Shapp (born Milton Jerrold Shapiro; June 25, 1912 – November 24, 1994) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 40th governor of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania. H ...

defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Drew Lewis. Under the state's 1968 constitution, Shapp was the first governor who was eligible to run for consecutive terms.

Primary elections

Incumbent Governor Shapp easily dispelled a spirited challenge from

Martin Mullen Martin Mullen (August 22, 1852 – October 27, 1915) was an American professional baseball player for the Cleveland Forest Citys. He played in one game on August 17, 1872 and was hitless in four at-bats, scoring one run. He played in right field ...

, a state representative from Philadelphia who was well known as a firebrand conservative opponent of abortion and pornography. With a short Republican bench, wealthy staffing executive Drew Lewis was the only serious contender in the race.

Major Party Candidates

Democratic

, incumbent Governor **running mate:

Ernie Kline Ernest P. "Ernie" Kline (June 20, 1929 – May 13, 2009) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and the 25th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1971 to 1979. Early life, career ...

, incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Republican

* Drew Lewis, CEO of the staffing company Snelling & Snelling **running mate: Ken Lee, Speaker of the State House of Representatives

Campaign

Shapp's popularity had waned somewhat since his comfortable victory in 1970; although he could claim to have saved the state from bankruptcy, he did so at the expense of large tax increases. Furthermore, Shapp, an unabashed liberal, had difficulty rekindling support from the state's rural, socially conservative regions. However, Shapp and Democrats as a whole received a significant boost from the

Watergate scandal 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 contin ...

; with President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's popularity in a tailspin, many of the top tier Republicans declined to run. Instead, the party turned to the wealthy businessman Lewis, who was able to project an "outsider" image. Lewis focused on local issues and greatly undercut Shapp in rural areas; despite lagging at the polls in traditional Democratic strongholds such as

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

, Shapp preserved a moderate victory by winning the combined vote of suburban Philadelphia, an unexpected accomplishment for a Democrat at the time.

Results

Notes

:a. Scherr, at the time, was only 21 years old and, therefore, ineligible to be governor.

References

Sources

* {{cite book , editor-last=Roche , editor-first=Kathleen M , year=1975 , title=

The Pennsylvania Manual ''The Pennsylvania Manual'' is a biennial guide to the Government of Pennsylvania produced by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services The Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) is an agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania ...

, volume=102 , location=Harrisburg , publisher=

Pennsylvania Department of General Services The Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) is an agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that supports the core operations of Pennsylvania state government. DGS builds all non-highway Capital projects, procures nearly $4 billion of ...

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; ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

November 1974 events in the United States