The 1974 New York state election was held on November 5, 1974, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general, two judges of the New York Court of Appeals and a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

In 1973, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller resigned, and was succeeded by Lt. Gov. Malcolm Wilson.

In 1973, Judge Charles D. Breitel was elected Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, and Judge Adrian P. Burke resigned, effective December 31, 1973, thus leaving two vacancies on the Court of Appeals. In January 1974, Republican Samuel Rabin and Democrat Harold A. Stevens, the Presiding Justices of the Appellate Division's First and Second Departments, were appointed by Governor Malcolm Wilson to fill the vacancies temporarily.

The Democratic State Committee met from June 13 to 15 at Niagara Falls, New York, and designated Howard J. Samuels for governor, but Congressman Hugh L. Carey polled enough votes to force a primary election. They also designated Mario M. Cuomo for lieutenant governor; the incumbent Arthur Levitt for Comptroller; Robert R. Meehan for attorney general; Judge Harold A. Stevens and Appellate Justice Lawrence H. Cooke for the Court of Appeals; and Mayor of Syracuse Lee Alexander for the U.S. Senate. Despite the state committee's stance, Carey and his reformist slate found support in disparate quarters. In August he was strongly endorsed by former New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner who, drawing a pointed comparison to Samuels, called Carey "free of boss ties and obligations". The primary election was held on September 10. Carey and his allies swept to victory: all the state party's designees were defeated, with only the unopposed Comptroller Levitt and one unopposed judge surviving the upset. Basil Paterson, who in 1970 received the most votes in the Democratic primary was not mentioned as a candidate for governor in 1974.

The Republican State Committee met on June 12 at the Nassau Coliseum, and designated the incumbents Wilson, Lefkowitz, Rabin, Stevens and Javits for re-election; and completed the ticket with Nassau County Executive Ralph G. Caso for lieutenant governor; and Ex-Mayor of Rochester Stephen May for Comptroller. On June 28, Rabin declined to run because he was already 69, just one year short of the constitutional age limit, and on July 22, Appellate Justice Louis M. Greenblott, of Binghamton, was designated instead.

The Conservative State Committee met on June 15, and designated the incumbent Republican governor Wilson for re-election. T. David Bullard polled enough votes to force a primary election, but withdrew on June 29. They also designated Republican Ralph G. Caso for lieutenant governor; Bradley J. Hurd (born c. 1902), "lumber dealer," of Buffalo, for Comptroller; Edward F. Campbell (born c. 1920), of Huntington, for attorney general; the incumbent Democrat Harold A. Stevens, and Manhattan lawyer Henry S. Middendorf, Jr., for the Court of Appeals; and Barbara A. Keating, of Larchmont, for the U.S. Senate.

The Liberal State Committee met on June 15, and designated Ex-Deputy Mayor of New York Edward A. Morrison for governor; and Raymond B. Harding, of The Bronx, for lieutenant governor; with the understanding that both would step aside in favor of the winners of the Democratic primary to be held in September. They also endorsed the incumbents Levitt (Dem.), Lefkowitz (Rep.), Stevens (Dem.) and Javits (Rep.) for re-election. On September 14, Morrison and Harding withdrew, and the State Committee endorsed the Democratic nominees Hugh L. Carey for governor; and Mary Anne Krupsak for lieutenant governor. Morrison and Harding were nominated to run for the New York Supreme Court.

The Republican, Liberal and Conservative tickets designated by the state committees were not challenged in primaries.