1998 Florida gubernatorial election
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The 1998 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to determine the
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
for the State of
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Two-term Democratic incumbent Governor
Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...
was term-limited and could not run for re-election. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, who had previously run for governor in
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
was the
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominee, and incumbent
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Kenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay was the Democratic nominee. Bush defeated MacKay by nearly 11% of the vote, and won his first of two terms as governor. Jeb Bush was one of four GOP pickups nationwide in the 1998 gubernatorial elections. Nonetheless, the Republican party still netted a loss of one governorship. On December 12, 1998, incumbent Governor Lawton Chiles suddenly died of a heart attack, thrusting MacKay into the governor's office, for which he had just lost the election, for 24 days. This was the second election in which MacKay had unsuccessfully run to succeed Chiles in an elected office, the first being the 1988 Senate race.


Candidates


Democratic

* Buddy MacKay, incumbent
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 ...


Republican

*
Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...
, Businessman, 1994 Republican nominee for governor, and Grandson of Former U.S. Senator
Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 of the Bush family, he was the father of former Vice President and Pre ...


Primary results

The primary season was largely uneventful, as MacKay (D) and Bush (R) officially ran unopposed for their respective nominations. Initially the Democratic primary saw a three-way race between MacKay,
Rick Dantzler Rick Dantzler (born January 1956) is an American lawyer, former Florida politician, and a member of the Democratic Party. From Winter Haven, Dantzler served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 to 1990, and in the Florida Senate ...
and J. Keith Arnold, but the latter two dropped out of the race early on. Dantzler became MacKay's running mate for
lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
, and Arnold ran for
Education Commissioner Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...
instead. The lack of competitiveness saw a very low turnout of just 16.6% of voters for the September 1 primary.


Democratic primary


Republican primary


General election

Jeb Bush enjoyed double-digit leads in polling through most of the campaign, and had a large fundraising advantage over MacKay. Bush attempted to revamp his image after appearing too hard-right during the 1994 race. Internal struggles amongst key Democratic constituencies, particularly the African-American community, hurt MacKay. MacKay and the Florida Democratic party drew the ire of the black community after state representative
Willie Logan Willie Logan (born February 16, 1957) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A former member of the Florida House of Representatives, he campaigned for the United States Senate as an Independent in 2000. Biography Born in N ...
, poised to become the first black
speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
of the Florida House, was ousted by party leaders. Logan endorsed Bush in the general election. Meanwhile, after receiving only 5% of the African-American vote in 1994, Bush sought to connect to minorities, a group he admittedly ignored in 1994. Setting a tone of
compassionate conservatism Compassionate conservatism is an American political philosophy that stresses using conservative techniques and concepts in order to improve the general welfare of society. The philosophy supports the implementation of policies designed to help the ...
, and portraying himself as a "consensus-building pragmatist," he met with African American leaders, and reached out to Jews and Hispanics. He introduced his Mexican-born wife
Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
on the campaign trail, and demonstrated his fluent bi-lingual abilities, particularly in
South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
. MacKay ran from behind for the entire race, and barely managed closed to gap to ten points in the days leading up to the general election. On election day, Bush won by almost 11%. He garnered 61% of the Hispanic vote and 14% of the African American vote, a surprising showing for a Republican seeking statewide office. With his brother
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
winning re-election in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, the two brothers became the first siblings to govern two states at the same time since
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
and
Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the g ...
governed
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and
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
from 1967 to 1971. Despite his strong statewide showing, Bush was unable to provide
coattails The coattail effect or down-ballot effect is the tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election. For example, in the United States, the party of a victorious presidential cand ...
for other Republicans further down the ticket.
Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...
was easily defeated in his
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
race, and
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
Republicans did not pick up any seats in the midterms. In the state legislature, the GOP netted no new
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
seats, and picked up only two seats in the
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. A little over a month after the election,
Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...
died suddenly of a heart attack. Buddy MacKay, still the sitting
lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
, was sworn in as the 42nd governor of Florida on December 13, 1998, and served out the final 23 days of Chiles' second term. In an ironic twist, MacKay managed to serve in the office he lost the race for, but stated "There's no great pleasure in this." MacKay oversaw the state funeral of Chiles, and made a handful of minor appointments, before Bush was sworn in as the 43rd Governor on January 5, 1999.


Results


Videos

(1) Midterm Election Coverage, which includes Bush's victory speech from November 3, 199

(2) Florida Gubernatorial Debate from October 20, 199

(3) Florida Gubernatorial Debate from October 3, 199


References

{{FlGovElections Florida gubernatorial elections, 1998
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
Jeb Bush