The Watergate scandal affected Republican House members in 1974, and Mizell was upset by Democrat Stephen L. Neal, 64,634 (52.4 percent) to 59,182 (47.6 percent). Mizell had been considering running for the Senate to replace Ervin, but he opted to run for the House again, considering this a safer election bet. In his 1974 defeat, Mizell polled less than three fifths of the total votes that he had received in 1972. The year's "Almanac of American Politics" called his loss, "one of the most stunning House upsets in 1974."