United States Senate election in Florida, 1988
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The 1988 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator
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 ...
decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican
Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American retired Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and t ...
won the open seat, becoming the first Republican to hold this seat since Reconstruction in 1875.


Democratic primary

Incumbent U.S. Senator
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 ...
announced in December 1987, that he would not seek reelection. Former Governor
Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an Politics of the United States, American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
announced his candidacy and was regarded as a likely nominee, but withdrew stating that he was tired of campaigning and did not like fundraising.


Candidates

*
Bill Gunter William Dawson Gunter Jr. (born July 16, 1934) is an American politician from the state of Florida. Early life and education Gunter was born in Jacksonville in 1934. He attended public schools in Live Oak and received his Bachelor of Science i ...
, Florida State Treasurer * Pat Frank, State Senator from Tampa * Claude R. Kirk Jr., former Republican Governor * Buddy MacKay, U.S. Representative from
Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...
* Dan Mica, U.S. Representative from Lake Worth


Results


Republican primary

In 1987, U.S. Representative
Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American retired Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and t ...
announced his campaign for the Republican nomination. Robert Merkle, a former U.S. Attorney, was Mack's only opposition in the Republican primary.


Candidates

*
Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American retired Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and t ...
, U.S. Representative from
Cape Coral Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census ...
* Robert Merkle, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida


Speculated

*
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 ...
, Secretary of Commerce of Florida (1987–1988) * Paula Hawkins, former U.S. Senator (1981–1987) *
Bill McCollum Ira William McCollum Jr. (born July 12, 1944) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 2001, representing Florida's 5th congressional district, which was la ...
, member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
Florida's 5th congressional district Florida's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. It extends along Florida's northern boundary from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. The district includes all of Baker, Gadsden, Hamilton and Madison ...


Results


General election


Candidates

*
Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American retired Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and t ...
(R), U.S. Representative * Buddy MacKay (D), U.S. Representative


Campaign

This senate election was heavily targeted by both parties. U.S. Representative Mack announced his candidacy back in October 1987. President Ronald Reagan endorsed Mack in June 1988 to allow Mack to focus on the general election, as he easily won the September 6 Republican primary against U.S. Attorney Robert Merkle. In May 1988, MacKay announced he would run for the open seat, and defeated Insurance Commissioner
Bill Gunter William Dawson Gunter Jr. (born July 16, 1934) is an American politician from the state of Florida. Early life and education Gunter was born in Jacksonville in 1934. He attended public schools in Live Oak and received his Bachelor of Science i ...
in a close October 4 runoff primary election. The general election became very nasty. MacKay tried to portray the Republican as "extremist." Mack attacked his opponent in television ads by connecting him to unpopular
Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...
and presidential candidate
Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
. Mack had help from vice presidential candidate
Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...
. He also ran ten-second television advertisements that said "Hey Buddy, you're a liberal," a charge MacKay could never escape. The election was so close there was a recount until MacKay conceded eight days after election day.


Endorsements


Results


See also

*
1988 United States Senate elections The 1988 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in which, in spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of one seat in the Senate. Seven s ...


References


Works cited

* {{United States elections, 1988
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 ...
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
1988 Florida elections