1978 Florida gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1978 United States gubernatorial elections.

1978 Florida gubernatorial election

←  1974 November 7, 1978 1982  →

Nominee Bob Graham Jack Eckerd Party Democratic Republican Running mate Wayne Mixson Paula Hawkins Popular vote 1,406,580 1,123,888 Percentage 55.59% 44.41%

County results Graham:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Eckerd:      50-60%     60-70%

Governor before election Reubin Askew Democratic Elected Governor Bob Graham Democratic

The 1978 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978. Democratic nominee Bob Graham was elected, defeating Republican nominee Jack Eckerd with 55.59% of the vote.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on September 12, 1978. The Democratic runoff was held on October 5, 1978.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Leroy Eden, bar owner
  • Maria Kay
• Bob Graham, Florida state senator from Miami Lakes
  • Wayne Mixson, state representative from Marianna
• Claude R. Kirk Jr., 36th governor of Florida
  • Mary L. Singleton, former director of the Florida Division of Elections and Jacksonville City Council member
• Robert L. Shevin, 31st Florida attorney general
  • Jim Glisson, state senator from Tavares
• Bruce A. Smathers, 18th secretary of state of Florida
  • Charles W. Boyd, state representative from Hollywood
• Hans Tanzler, mayor of Jacksonville
  • Manuel "Manolo" Arques, Miami real estate and insurance executive
• James H. Williams, 11th lieutenant governor of Florida
  • Betty Castor, state senator from Tampa

Seven tickets ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of Florida.

Jim Williams, the lieutenant governor, ran for governor with former Florida state senator Betty Castor of Tampa, as his running mate. Hans G. Tanzler, the mayor of Jacksonville, ran with Manuel "Manolo" Arques, a Cuban-American real estate and insurance executive from Miami. Florida secretary of state Bruce Smathers (who resigned to run) ran with state representative Charles W. Boyd.

Claude R. Kirk Jr. of Palm Beach, who was the Republican governor of Florida from 1967 to 1971, returned to the party he left 18 years prior, switching his party affiliation to Democratic on July 5, 1978 (the month prior re-registering as an independent and launching an abortive signature drive to get on the ballot as an independent. He chose as his running mate Mary L. Singleton, the former director of the Florida Division of Elections and the first black woman to serve on the Jacksonville City Council. ^[1]

Results

  Shevin

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

  Graham

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Tanzler

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Williams

•   20–30%
•   50–60%

Democratic primary results ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert L. Shevin	364,732	35.15
	Democratic	Bob Graham	261,972	25.25
	Democratic	Hans Tanzler	124,706	12.02
	Democratic	James H. Williams	124,427	11.99
	Democratic	Bruce A. Smathers	85,298	8.22
	Democratic	Claude R. Kirk Jr.	62,534	6.03
	Democratic	Leroy Eden	13,864	1.34
Total votes			1,037,533	100.00

Democratic Primary Runoff by county

  Graham

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

  Shevin

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Democratic primary runoff results ^{[4] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Graham	482,535	53.55
	Democratic	Robert L. Shevin	418,636	46.45
Total votes			901,171	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jack Eckerd, businessman and administrator of the General Services Administration
• Louis Frey Jr., U.S. Representative from Orlando

Results

Republican Primary by county

  Eckerd

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%
•   >90%

  Frey

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Republican primary results ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jack Eckerd	244,394	63.84
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	138,437	36.16
Total votes			382,831	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Bob Graham, Democratic
• Jack Eckerd, Republican

Results

1978 Florida gubernatorial election ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bob Graham/ Wayne Mixson	1,406,580	55.59%
	Republican	Jack Eckerd/ Paula Hawkins	1,123,888	44.41%
Majority			282,692	11.18%
Turnout			2,530,468	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

1. Slaughter, Thomas E. "Shevin TV Ad Kills Truce." Associated Press, October 3, 1978.
2. "FL Governor, 1978 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
3. Florida Handbook 1985-86, p. 604.
4. "FL Governor, 1978 - D Runoff". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
5. "FL Governor, 1978 - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
6. Florida Handbook 1985-86, p. 601.
7. Cook, Rhodes, ed. (2015). America Votes 31: 2013-2014, Election Returns by State. CQ Press. p. 81. ISBN   9781483383026 . Retrieved April 5, 2020.
8. "FL Governor, 1978". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
9. Florida Handbook 1985-86, p. 600.

Bibliography

• Morris, Allen (1985). The Florida Handbook, 1985-86. Tallahassee, FL: The Peninsular Publishing Company.