In the Florida gubernatorial election of 1974, the sitting Governor of Florida was re-elected. This was just the second time after 1956, and the first that the Governor of Florida was re-elected for the second four-year term. (In 1956, T. LeRoy Collins, who was elected for the rest of deceased Governor Tom McCarty's term, won his own full term.)

Democratic nomination

Incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

 Reubin O'Donovan Askew

Reubin O'Donovan Askew

Reubin O'Donovan Askew is an American politician, who served as the 37th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida from 1971 to 1979.-Early life and career:...

 faced little opposition in the Democratic Party

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...

 primary. Despite a challenge from his own Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Florida

The Lieutenant Governor of Florida is a statewide elected office in the government of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the Florida Constitution, the lieutenant governor is elected to a four-year term congruent with that of the Governor of Florida, and succeeds to the office of Governor if it...

 Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.

Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.

Thomas Burton "Tom" Adams, Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat, he served in the Florida Senate , as Secretary of State of Florida , and as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Florida .-Early life:Adams was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Thomas Burton Adams,...

, Askew, a popular member of the New Southerner political generation, was renominated easily in primary on September 5:

• Gov. Reubin O'Donovan Askew
  Reubin O'Donovan Askew
  Reubin O'Donovan Askew is an American politician, who served as the 37th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida from 1971 to 1979.-Early life and career:...
  
   - 579,137 (68.83%)
• Citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin, Jr.
  Ben Hill Griffin, Jr.
  Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. was a prominent American businessman, citrus grower, politician and philanthropist who was a native and resident of Florida. Griffin was an alumnus of the University of Florida, a former state legislator, a one-time candidate for governor and a patron of college sports and...
  
   - 137,008 (16.28%)
• Lt. Gov. Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.
  Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.
  Thomas Burton "Tom" Adams, Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat, he served in the Florida Senate , as Secretary of State of Florida , and as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Florida .-Early life:Adams was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Thomas Burton Adams,...
  
   - 85,557 (10.17%)
• Norman Bie - 39,758 (4.73%)

J.H. Williams became Askew's running mate for second term.

Republican nomination

Jerry Thomas

Jerry Thomas

Jeremiah P. Thomas was an American bartender; because of his pioneering work in popularizing cocktails across the United States, he is considered "the father of American mixology." In addition to writing the seminal work on cocktails, his creativity and showmanship established the image of the...

 won the Republican Party

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...

 nomination without any opposition.

General election results

Election day was November 5

• (I) Reubin O'Donovan Askew
  Reubin O'Donovan Askew
  Reubin O'Donovan Askew is an American politician, who served as the 37th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida from 1971 to 1979.-Early life and career:...
  
   (D) - 1,118,954 (61.20%)
• Jerry Thomas
  Jerry Thomas
  Jeremiah P. Thomas was an American bartender; because of his pioneering work in popularizing cocktails across the United States, he is considered "the father of American mixology." In addition to writing the seminal work on cocktails, his creativity and showmanship established the image of the...
  
  (R) - 709,438 (38.80%)

Williams, as he ran on the joint ticket, replaced Burton as 2nd Florida Lt. Gov.