later regretted due to Castro's willingness to attack Williams. Most of Williams' support resided in the most populous county, Maricopa County, while the rest of the state supported Castro. Ultimately, however, Castro lost the general election by a narrow margin, with Williams earning 50.9% of the vote to Castro's 49.1%. 1974 gubernatorial campaign Incumbent governor Jack Williams decided against running for a fourth term as Governor of Arizona, which led to five candidates announcing their intention to seek the Republican nomination in his place, including perennial candidate Evan Mecham (who would later become governor, and subsequently impeached) as well as Arizona Corporation Commissioner Russell Williams (no relation to Jack Williams). Castro announced his decision to pursue the Democratic nomination once again in the 1974 election, and faced very little opposition in the Democratic primary, receiving more than double the number of votes over his two competitors. In contrast, the Republican primary was highly contested and led to a split among Republican Party members, with Russell Williams emerging as their nominee. Due to the closeness of the 1970 election, the Hispanic community was encouraged about the possibility of Castro being able to achieve the office of governor, and volunteered for his campaign in droves. Castro ultimately won the general election by another close margin, receiving only 4,119 more votes than Russell Williams. The margin was credited to the Navajo vote in Navajo and Apache counties where Castro received 5,488 more votes than Williams. A few weeks after the election Castro attended the grand opening of a Nogales, Sonora bank after which he returned to the U.S. via the Grand Avenue pedestrian gate. He was in the company of two Mexican bank executives who presented their border crossing permits to the Immigration officer on duty. Castro declared himself as a U.S. citizen whereupon the officer challenged him and asked for proof of his U.S. citizenship. Castro replied by suggesting that they call Senator Goldwater to ask him if it would be ok to admit the Governor Elect of Arizona into his state. Governor of Arizona (1975–1977) On January 6, 1975, Castro was sworn into office as the 14th Governor of Arizona, becoming the first Mexican American to hold the position since Arizona earned its statehood in 1912. Along with his election as governor, the Arizona State Senate also leaned Democratic, with 18 Democratic members to 12 Republican members. However, the Arizona State