Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1974
Encyclopedia
The Pennsylvania gubernational election of 1974 was held on November 5. Incumbent Democratic
Governor Milton Shapp
defeated Republican
Drew Lewis
. Under the state's 1968 constitution, Shapp was the first governor who was eligible to run for consecutive terms.
Shapp's popularity had waned somewhat since his coasted to 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 got a huge boost from the Watergate scandal
; with President Nixon'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 and Scranton, Shapp preserved a moderate victory by winning the combined vote of suburban Philadelphia, an almost unthinkable accomplishment at the time.http://books.google.com/books?id=1J_9q-lIWRkC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=1998+ridge+itkin&source=bl&ots=AK6b-Ut25d&sig=ln8QefiZodyBTkRiIzEYxTt21Ro&hl=en&ei=cPjETOLTOoOglAenj8EH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCQQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=1998%20ridge%20itkin&f=false
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Governor Milton Shapp
Milton Shapp
Milton Jerrold Shapp was the 40th Governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and was the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania.- Early life :...
defeated Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Drew Lewis
Andrew L. Lewis, Jr.
Andrew Lindsay Lewis, Jr. is a businessman who was Secretary of Transportation for part of the administration of United States President Ronald Reagan. He is widely known as Drew Lewis....
. Under the state's 1968 constitution, Shapp was the first governor who was eligible to run for consecutive terms.
Shapp's popularity had waned somewhat since his coasted to 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 got a huge boost from the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
; with President Nixon's
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
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 and Scranton, Shapp preserved a moderate victory by winning the combined vote of suburban Philadelphia, an almost unthinkable accomplishment at the time.http://books.google.com/books?id=1J_9q-lIWRkC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=1998+ridge+itkin&source=bl&ots=AK6b-Ut25d&sig=ln8QefiZodyBTkRiIzEYxTt21Ro&hl=en&ei=cPjETOLTOoOglAenj8EH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCQQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=1998%20ridge%20itkin&f=false
Democratic
- Milton ShappMilton ShappMilton Jerrold Shapp was the 40th Governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and was the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania.- Early life :...
, incumbent Governor- runningmate: Ernie KlineErnest P. KlineErnest P. "Ernie" Kline was a Democrat member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania....
, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
- runningmate: Ernie Kline
Republican
- Drew LewisAndrew L. Lewis, Jr.Andrew Lindsay Lewis, Jr. is a businessman who was Secretary of Transportation for part of the administration of United States President Ronald Reagan. He is widely known as Drew Lewis....
, CEO of the staffing company Snelling & Snelling- runningmate: Ken LeeKenneth B. LeeKenneth B. Lee was a former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.Lee was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1957 . Prior to being elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Lee was in his third year as District Attorney of Sullivan County,...
, Speaker of the State House of Representatives
- runningmate: Ken Lee
Results
| Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1974 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
Milton Shapp Milton Shapp Milton Jerrold Shapp was the 40th Governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and was the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania.- Early life :... |
Ernie Kline Ernest P. Kline Ernest P. "Ernie" Kline was a Democrat member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.... |
1,878,252 | 53.66% | |
| Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... |
Drew Lewis Andrew L. Lewis, Jr. Andrew Lindsay Lewis, Jr. is a businessman who was Secretary of Transportation for part of the administration of United States President Ronald Reagan. He is widely known as Drew Lewis.... |
Ken Lee Kenneth B. Lee Kenneth B. Lee was a former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.Lee was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1957 . Prior to being elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Lee was in his third year as District Attorney of Sullivan County,... |
1,578,917 | 45.11% | |
| Constitutional | Stephen Depue | Ellis Werft | 33,691 | 0.96% | |
| Socialist Workers Socialist Workers Party (United States) The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba... |
Roberta Scherr | Fred Stanton | 8,980 | 0.26% | |
| Write-ins | Write-in | 374 | 0.01% | ||
| Totals | 3,500,214 | 100.00% | |||
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 63.31% | ||||