355,107 146,649 Start date November 5, 1974 | 69.4% 28.7% | |
 | ||
Winner Ernest Hollings | ||
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 second full term.
Contents
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.
References
United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1974 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA