THREAD: We're starting off mapping every flip in 1974 with the Governor races! The fallout of Watergate wasn't as prevalent here as it was with the Congressional races, but there were still plenty of flips! So let's talk about them!

We start off in Alaska, the state that hates to provide county-level data. So this was kind of piecemealed together by looking at State House district results from the time. Anyway, longtime Democratic Governor Bill Egan lost to Jay Hammond by 0.3% here.

Next up was Arizona, where I already mapped it! Democratic diplomat Raul Castro won this race and became Arizona's only Hispanic Governor in the state's history in the process! He'd resign in 1976 though to go back to being a diplomat. https://twitter.com/Uncrewed/status/1325220266474164225

We head to California next! Republican Governor Ronald Reagan retired to pursue more national politics, so another famous guy replaced him, Jerry Brown! Brown defeated State Controller Houston Flournoy by 3 points to replace the actor-turned-Governor.

Next up is Colorado! Appointed Republican Governor John Vanderhoof lost his bid for a full term to State Senator Richard Lamm. Lamm would go on to serve as Governor for 12 years and eventually run for President under the Reform Party banner.

Next up is Connecticut! Democratic Congresswoman Ella Grosso easily defeated fellow Republican Congressman Robert Steele to flip the state from red to blue. Grosso was heavily recruited to run for a while and when she finally did, she won big!

We head to Kansas next! Republican State Senate President Robert Bennett barely defeated Democratic AG Vern Miller to flip the state from blue to red. Also notable here is that the Prohibition nominee played a role in the outcome here, he got 1% more than the margin of victory!

Next up is Maine. Independent insurance agent James Longley rode the nationwide wave of cynicism towards politicians to win this race. Don't feel too bad about George Mitchell though, he became a US Senator 6 years later!

We go next to the commonwealth that once owned Maine, Massachusetts! Democrat Michael Dukakis easily unseated Republican Governor Francis Sargent, who only won around Nantucket and Cape Cod.

Next up is New York! Democratic Congressman Hugh Carey became the first Democratic Governor of New York since 1958 when he easily defeated Republican Governor Malcolm Wilson.

Next up is Ohio, but they don't have any data I could use, so here's the Wikipedia map. Ohio's been not good with historical data, so yeah blame Ohio. Anyway, Former Republican Governor Jim Rhodes barely unseated Democratic Governor John Gilligan here by about 11,000 votes.

Back to states that actually have historical data! Oregon is next, where Democratic State Treasurer Roger Straub defeated Republican State Rep Victor Atiyeh. Don't feel too bad for Atiyeh, as he won in 1978 and is currently the last Republican to serve as Governor of Oregon.

Up next is South Carolina! SC Republican Party official James Edwards defeated Democratic Congressman Bryan Dorn to become the first Republican Governor of South Carolina since Reconstruction.

Fun fact before I get to the next state, Dorn wasn't the original nominee for the Democratic Party! That would be a Wall Street businessman by the name of Charles Ravenel. Ravenel was thrown off the ballot when it was revealed he didn't meet the state's residency requirements.

The penultimate state that flipped in 1974 was Tennessee. Former Democratic Congressman Ray Blanton defeated Republican attorney Lamar(!) Alexander. Don't feel bad for Lamar(!) though, as he won the Governorship four years later.

The final Governor flip in 1974 came in Wyoming. Democratic State Rep Ed Herschler defeated Republican State Senator Dick Jones to flip the state from red to blue. Fun fact about Jones, he beat future US Senator Malcolm Wallop in the primary!

So yeah, the impact of Watergate wasn't necessarily reflected as much in Governor races as it was in Congressional races, but it was still key in flipping a few states. Join me tomorrow when I go over all the Senate races that flipped! (/END THREAD)

@SenhorRaposa
@Aseemru