1963 Tampa mayoral election

1963 Tampa mayoral election

←  1959 September 10, 1963 September 24, 1963 1967  →

Candidate Nick Nuccio Julian Lane Ed Blackburn, Jr. First round 23,497 36.87% 22,467 35.26% 9,554 14.99% Runoff 36,144 51.19% 34,467 48.81% Eliminated

Mayor before election Julian Lane Nonpartisan Elected mayor Nick Nuccio Nonpartisan

The 1963 Tampa mayoral election was held on September 24, 1963, following a primary election on September 10, 1963. Incumbent Mayor Julian Lane ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged by former Mayor Nick Nuccio, whom Lane defeated in 1959, Sheriff Ed Blackburn, and wholesale furniture executive Guy Burnett. In the primary, Nuccio narrowly came in first, winning 37 percent to Lane's 35 percent, and both advanced to the general election. Nuccio defeated Lane by a slim margin, 51–49 percent, to return to office.

Primary election

Candidates

• Nick Nuccio, Hillsborough County Commissioner, former Mayor ^[1]
• Julian Lane, incumbent Mayor ^[2]
• Ed Blackburn, Jr., Hillsborough County Sheriff ^[3]
• Guy A. Burnett, Jr., wholesale furniture executive ^[4]
• Jim Fair, perennial candidate ^[5]

Results

1963 Tampa mayoral primary election ^{[6] [7] [a]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Nick Nuccio	23,497	36.87%
	Nonpartisan	Julian Lane (inc.)	22,467	35.26%
	Nonpartisan	Ed Blackburn, Jr.	9,554	14.99%
	Nonpartisan	Guy A. Burnett, Jr.	5,323	8.35%
	Nonpartisan	Jim Fair	2,881	4.52%
Total votes			63,722	100.00%

General election

Results

1963 Tampa mayoral general election ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Nick Nuccio	36,144	51.19%
	Nonpartisan	Julian Lane (inc.)	34,467	48.81%
Total votes			70,611	100.00%

Notes

1. The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections website erroneously split the election results into two separate pages and labeled Lane's vote total as belonging to a September 19, 1963, election.

References

1. "Nick Nuccio Again Enters Mayor's Race". Tampa Times . Tampa, Florida. December 1, 1962. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
2. "Lane Enters Race, Citing City's Gains". The Tampa Tribune . Tampa, Florida. June 21, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
3. "Hot Race Seen As Blackburn Runs for Mayor". The Tampa Tribune . Tampa, Florida. March 6, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
4. Harvill, Doyle (November 29, 1962). "Guy Burnett Enters Race for Mayor's Job". Tampa Times . Tampa, Florida. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
5. "Jim Fair Announces He'll Be Candidate for Mayor". The Tampa Tribune . Tampa, Florida. August 11, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
6. "Election of 9/10/1963". Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
7. "Election of 9/19/1963". Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
8. "Election of 9/24/1963". Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2025.