1976 Arkansas gubernatorial election

1976 Arkansas gubernatorial election
	November 2, 1976
	County results; Pryor: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%
Governor before election; David Pryor; Democratic	Elected Governor ; David Pryor; Democratic

The 1976 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday November 2, Incumbent Democratic governor David Pryor defeated Republican candidate Leon Griffith with 83.24% of the vote. Pryor carried all of the state's 75 counties in his reelection effort, the last governor to do so until fellow Democrat Mike Beebe did in his 2010 reelection bid.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on May 25, 1976.

Democratic primary

Candidates

David Pryor, incumbent governor
Jim Lindsey, Real Estate developer and former University of Arkansas and Minnesota Vikings football player
Frank Lady, Attorney and former state representative^[1]
John H. (Tuffy) Chambers, farmer

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Pryor (incumbent)	312,872	59.49
	Democratic	Jim Lindsey	171,031	32.52
	Democratic	Frank Lady	36,832	7.00
	Democratic	John H. Chambers	5,223	1.00
Total votes			525,968	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Leon Griffith, master plumber^[6]
Joseph H. Weston, editor of the Sharp Citizen^[7]

Results

Republican primary results^[8]^[9]^[4]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leon Griffith	13,044	57.22
	Republican	Joseph H. Weston	9,753	42.78
Total votes			22,797	100.00

General election

Candidates

David Pryor, Democratic
Leon Griffith, Republican

Results

1976 Arkansas gubernatorial election^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	David Pryor (incumbent)	605,083	83.24%	+17.67%
	Republican	Leon Griffith	121,716	16.74%	−17.67%
	Write-in	Thaddeus Honeycutt	150	0.02%	+0.00%
Majority			483,367	66.50%
Turnout			726,949	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ Oakley, Meredith L. (1994). On the Make: The Rise of Bill Clinton. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc. p. 178. ISBN 0-89526-493-5.
^ "AR Governor, 1976 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
^ 1976 Arkansas Elections, p. 41.
^ ^a ^b Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 101.
^ ^a ^b America Votes 12, p. 53.
^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Leon Griffith".
^ Dumas, Ernest. "Joseph Harry Weston (1911–1983)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
^ "AR Governor, 1976 - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
^ 1976 Arkansas Elections, p. 49.
^ "AR Governor, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
^ 1976 Arkansas Elections, p. 56.
^ Glashan 1979, pp. 22–23.
^ Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 42.
^ America Votes 12, p. 46.

Bibliography

Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Meckler Books. ISBN 0-930466-17-9.
Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
Paul Riviere, Secretary of State (1980). 1976 Arkansas Elections: A Compilation of Primary, Run-off and General Election results for State and District Offices. Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas Election Services Division.
Scammon, Richard M.; McGillivray, Alice V. (1977). America Votes 12: a handbook of contemporary American election statistics, 1976. Washington, D.C.: Elections Research Center.

[1] Oakley, Meredith L. (1994). On the Make: The Rise of Bill Clinton. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc. p. 178. ISBN 0-89526-493-5.

[2] "AR Governor, 1976 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2020.

[FOOTNOTE1976_Arkansas_Elections41-3] 1976 Arkansas Elections, p. 41.

[FOOTNOTECongressional_Quarterly1998101-4] Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 101.

[FOOTNOTEAmerica_Votes_1253-5] America Votes 12, p. 53.

[6] "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Leon Griffith".

[7] Dumas, Ernest. "Joseph Harry Weston (1911–1983)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved April 23, 2020.

[8] "AR Governor, 1976 - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2020.

[FOOTNOTE1976_Arkansas_Elections49-9] 1976 Arkansas Elections, p. 49.

[10] "AR Governor, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2020.

[FOOTNOTE1976_Arkansas_Elections56-11] 1976 Arkansas Elections, p. 56.

[FOOTNOTEGlashan197922–23-12] Glashan 1979, pp. 22–23.

[FOOTNOTECongressional_Quarterly199842-13] Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 42.

[FOOTNOTEAmerica_Votes_1246-14] America Votes 12, p. 46.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

Elections in Arkansas
General	1844 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Governor	1836 1840 1844 1848 1849 S 1852 1856 1860 1862 1864 U 1868 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 S 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1833 1839–40 1848 S 1853 1859 1868 S 1870 1876 1883 1885 S 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 S 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1937 S 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1837 1843 1845 S 1849 1855 1861 1867 1873 1879 1881 S 1885 1891 1897 1903 1909 1914 1916 S 1920 1926 1932 S 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 2022
U.S. House	1837 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1851 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 (4th S) 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 (6th S) 1962 1964 1966 (4th S) 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
'S,' denotes special election; 'U,' denotes election under Federal (Union) military occupation See also: Political party strength in Arkansas

(1974 ←) 1976 United States elections (→ 1978)
President	1976 United States presidential election Democratic primaries Republican primaries Democratic convention Republican convention
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware Florida Hawaii Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	Delaware Illinois Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov Montana New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Rhode Island Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia
State legislature	Arizona Arizona House Arizona Senate Iowa Senate Minnesota House Senate
Mayors	San Juan, PR