| Election Name: | 1974 Arizona gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Arizona |
| Type: | Presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1970 Arizona gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1970 |
| Next Election: | 1978 Arizona gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1978 |
| Election Date: | November 5, 1974 |
| Image1: | Raul Hector Castro swearing in as Ambassador to Argentina (cropped).jpg |
| Image Upright: | 0.6 |
| Nominee1: | Raúl Héctor Castro |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 278,375 |
| Percentage1: | 50.4% |
| Nominee2: | Russell Williams |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 273,674 |
| Percentage2: | 49.6% |
| Map Size: | 210px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Jack Williams |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Raúl Héctor Castro |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1974 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Governor Jack Williams decided not to run for a fourth term as governor. Former United States Ambassador to Bolivia Raúl Héctor Castro, who was the Democratic nominee in 1970, won the Democratic nomination again in 1974, and narrowly won the general election, defeating Republican nominee Russell Williams by 0.85%. Castro was sworn into his first and only term as governor on January 6, 1975.
Prior to the election, there was a recall effort led by Cesar Chavez against incumbent Governor Jack Williams, with 180,000 signatures submitted. Many of the signatures were invalidated by the Attorney General Gary Nelson, but this was eventually overturned. By the time this occurred, however, it was meaningless due to the close proximity of the 1974 gubernatorial election, and thus a recall election did not occur.[1]
Approximately two years into his term as governor, Castro would resign to become United States Ambassador to Argentina.
| County | Raúl Héctor Castro Democratic | Russell Williams Republican | Russell Shaw Write-in | Harold Bates Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Apache | 4,482 | 69.11% | 2,003 | 30.89% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,479 | 38.23% | 6,485 | ||||||||||||
| Cochise | 8,779 | 53.28% | 7,695 | 46.70% | 2 | 0.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,084 | 6.58% | 16,476 | ||||||||||||
| Coconino | 9,601 | 59.69% | 6,483 | 40.30% | 1 | 0.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,118 | 19.38% | 16,085 | ||||||||||||
| Gila | 5,056 | 55.73% | 4,015 | 44.26% | 1 | 0.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,041 | 11,47% | 9,072 | ||||||||||||
| Graham | 2,379 | 46.19% | 2,772 | 53.81% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -393 | -7.63% | 5,151 | ||||||||||||
| Greenlee | 2,262 | 61.82% | 1,397 | 38.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 865 | 23.64% | 3,659 | ||||||||||||
| Maricopa | 139,222 | 44.84% | 171,111 | 55.11% | 135 | 0.04% | 4 | 0.00% | -31,889 | -10.27% | 310,472 | ||||||||||||
| Mohave | 4,623 | 50.92% | 4,449 | 49.00% | 7 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 174 | 1.92% | 9,079 | ||||||||||||
| Navajo | 6,440 | 56.80% | 4,899 | 43.20% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,541 | 13.59% | 11,339 | ||||||||||||
| Pima | 70,919 | 61.73% | 43,962 | 38.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 26,957 | 23.47% | 114,881 | ||||||||||||
| Pinal | 9,405 | 56.52% | 7,235 | 43.48% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,170 | 13.04% | 16,640 | ||||||||||||
| Santa Cruz | 2,238 | 66.37% | 1,134 | 33.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,104 | 32.74% | 3,372 | ||||||||||||
| Yavapai | 7,148 | 43.10% | 9,432 | 56.88% | 3 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,284 | -13.77% | 16,583 | ||||||||||||
| Yuma | 5,821 | 45.10% | 7,087 | 54.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,266 | -9.81% | 12,908 | ||||||||||||
| Totals | 278,375 | 50.41% | 273,674 | 49.56% | 149 | 0.03% | 4 | 0.00% | 4,701 | 0.85% | 552,202 | ||||||||||||