1974 United States Senate election in South Carolina

The 1974 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 5, 1974, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings easily defeated Republican challenger Gwen Bush to win his third (his second full) term.

1974 United States Senate election in South Carolina

← 1968 November 5, 1974 1980 →

Nominee Ernest Hollings Gwen Bush Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 355,107 146,649 Percentage 69.44% 28.68%

County results Hollings:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Ernest Hollings Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ernest Hollings Democratic

Primaries

Both Fritz Hollings and Gwen Bush faced no opposition in their party's primaries which allowed both candidates to concentrate solely on the general election.

General election campaign

The Watergate scandal caused the Republicans to perform poorly nationwide in 1974 and Gwen Bush was little more than a sacrificial lamb. The main focus of the voters in South Carolina was on the competitive gubernatorial contest and Fritz Hollings easily cruised to a comfortable re-election.

General election results

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1974

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Fritz Hollings (incumbent)	355,107	69.44%	+7.55%
	Republican	Gwen Bush	146,649	28.68%	−9.43%
	Independent	Harold Hough	9,624	1.88%	N/A
Majority			208,458	40.76%	+16.98%
Turnout			511,380	51.3%	−25.2%
	Democratic hold

See also

• List of United States senators from South Carolina
• United States Senate elections, 1974 and 1975
• United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1974
• South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1974

References

• State Election Commission (1975). Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission. Columbia, SC: State Election Commission. p. 37.