Florida gubernatorial election, 1970

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Florida gubernatorial election, 1970
Flag of Florida (1900-1985).svg
←  1966 November 3, 1970 1974  →

  Florida Governor Reubin Askew (cropped).jpg Kirk cropped.jpg
Nominee Reubin Askew Claude R. Kirk, Jr.
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Thomas B. Adams Jr. Ray C. Osborne
Popular vote984,305746,243
Percentage56.9%43.1%
Florida Governor Election Results by County, 1970.svg
County Results

Askew:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

Kirk:     50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election

Claude R. Kirk, Jr.
Republican

Elected Governor

Reubin Askew
Democratic

The Florida gubernatorial election of 1970 took place on November 3, 1970, to determine the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida, concurrent with the election to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.

Lieutenant Governor of Florida position

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 Florida, and succeeds to the office of governor if it becomes vacant. The incumbent is Jeanette Núñez, who took office on January 8, 2019.

Contents

Incumbent Republican Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. chose to run for a second term, with this being the first election in which the incumbent would be eligible for another four-year term. The first Republican elected governor since the Reconstruction Era, Kirk was challenged by Eckerd Corporation founder Jack Eckerd and State Senator Louis A. "Skip" Bafalis for his party's nomination. After failing to receive a majority, Kirk prevailed over Eckerd in a runoff. The primary for the Democratic Party nomination featured a four candidate field, with Florida Attorney General Earl Faircloth and President pro tempore of the Florida Senate Reubin Askew advancing to a runoff. Askew won the runoff and received the nomination of the Democratic Party.

Republican Party of Florida

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is the official organization for Republicans in the state of Florida.

Claude R. Kirk Jr. American politician

Claude Roy Kirk Jr. was the 36th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida (1967–1971). He was the first Republican Governor of Florida since Reconstruction.

Eckerd Corporation

Eckerd Corporation was an American drug store chain that was headquartered in Largo, Florida, and toward the end of its life, in Warwick, Rhode Island.

This was the first election since the re-establishment of the office of Lieutenant Governor. Askew selected Florida Secretary of State Thomas Burton Adams Jr., while Kirk chose to run with incumbent Ray C. Osborne. Primarily due to controversial statements and actions during his term, as well as his inability to portray Askew as an extreme liberal as he had done with Robert King High in 1966, Kirk lost re-election to Askew in the general election by a margin of 56.88% to 43.12%.

Secretary of State of Florida

The Secretary of State of Florida is a constitutional officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established by the original 1838 state constitution.

Thomas Burton Adams Jr. American politician

Thomas Burton "Tom" Adams Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat, he served in the Florida Senate (1956–1960), as Secretary of State of Florida (1961–1971), and as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Florida (1971–1975).

Ray C. Osborne American politician

Raymond Claiborne Osborne, was a Florida Republican Party politician who served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida under the state constitution of 1968 and the state's first lieutenant governor since 1889. Appointed by Republican Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr., Osborne was sworn in on January 7, 1969 for a term that lasted two years.

Overview

Incumbent Governor of Florida Claude R. Kirk Jr. was the first Republican who held Florida's governorship since Reconstruction. He was elected in 1966, when Republicans has made some gains in traditionally Democratic Deep South. [1] During his tenure as governor, the Florida Legislature created a new Constitution in 1968, which was approved by voters on November 5, 1968. As part of the new Constitution, the office of Lieutenant Governor was re-established. [2] Kirk appointed Ray C. Osborne, a Florida House of Representatives member from Pinellas County. [3] The new Constitution also allowed for the Governor of Florida to serve two terms. [4] Kirk was thus eligible for re-election in 1970. [1]

Republican Party (United States) Major political party in the United States

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Deep South cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States

The Deep South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. Historically, it was differentiated as those states most dependent on plantations and slave societies during the pre-Civil War period. The Deep South is commonly referred to as the Cotton States, given that the production of cotton was a primary cash crop.

Republican primary

During the Republican primary, incumbent Claude Kirk was challenged by State Senator Louis A. Bafalis from Palm Beach and Eckerd founder Jack Eckerd of Clearwater. The Miami Herald endorsed Eckerd, stating that he is "an efficient campaigner with the ability to bring people together constructively. ... [Eckerd has] a common touch, dedication to high principle, and organizing genius." William C. Cramer, a powerful Republican in the state and the party's senate nominee for that year, publicly remained neutral during the primary, but voted for Eckerd. Later, Eckerd himself would state, "I was offended by his [Kirk's] public behavior and chagrined that he was a Republican." [5]

Florida Senate Upper house of the Florida Legislature

The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The Senate is composed of 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 470,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Senators' terms begin immediately, upon their election. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.

Palm Beach, Florida Town in Florida, United States

The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth. As of 2010, Palm Beach had a year-round population of 8,348. In 2018, Bloomberg ranked Palm Beach as the 27th-wealthiest place in the United States.

Jack Eckerd American businessman

Jack Eckerd was an American businessman who founded the Eckerd chain of drugstores.

In the primary election held on September 8, Kirk reached first place with 48.16% of the vote, compared to 38.37% for Eckerd, and 13.48% for Bafalis. However, because Kirk failed to receive a majority of the votes, he and Eckerd advanced to a run-off election. [5]

Republican Primary – September 8, 1970
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Claude R. Kirk Jr. 172,88848.16
Republican Jack Eckerd 137,73138.37
Republican Louis A. Bafalis 48,37813.48
Total votes358,997100

Run-off

In the run-off election on September 29, Kirk earned 199,943 votes versus Eckerd's 152,327 votes, by 47,616 votes – a margin of approximately 13.52%. [5]

Republican Primary run-off – September 29, 1970
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Claude R. Kirk Jr.199,94356.76
Republican Jack Eckerd152,32743.24
Total votes352,270100

Democratic primary

Candidates

In primaries, held on September 8, none of these candidates was able to win majority. As a result, the top two finishers, Faircloth and Askew, advanced to a runoff election. [6]

Democratic Primary – September 8, 1970
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Earl Faircloth 227,41329.96
Democratic Reubin Askew 206,33327.18
Democratic John E. Matthews186,05324.51
Democratic Chuck Hall139,38418.36
Total votes759,183100

Run-off

Although the primary election was a close race, Askew defeated Faircloth by a relatively wide margin in the run-off election on September 29. Askew earned 447,025 votes against Faircloth's 328,038 votes, by 312,158 votes – a margin of approximately 15.36%. [7] Askew selected Florida Secretary of State Thomas Burton Adams Jr. to be his running mate.

Democratic Primary run-off – September 29, 1970
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Reubin Askew447,02557.68
Democratic Earl Faircloth328,03842.32
Total votes775,063100

General election

In response to the schism between Cramer and Kirk, the Miami Herald endorsed Askew and noted that "Askew and Chiles form a logical team; Kirk and Cramer don’t". Kirk mocked Askew as a "momma’s boy who wouldn’t have the courage to stand up under the fire of the legislators" and as a "nice, sweet-looking fellow chosen by ‘liberals’ ... to front for them." [5] Despite promising no new taxes and several attempts to label Askew a "liberal", Kirk had overseen what was then the largest tax increase in Florida history. [8]

Askew and Adams defeated incumbents Governor Kirk and Lieutenant Governor Ray C. Osborn with respectable margin. [9]

Gubernatorial Election– November 3, 1970
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Reubin Askew/Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. 984,30556.88
Republican Claude Roy Kirk, Jr./Ray C. Osborne 746,24343.12
Total votes1,730,548100

On the very same day Florida elected to the United States Senate Democrat Lawton Chiles, who later was elected Governor in 1990. [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 David Bauerlein (September 28, 2011). "Former Florida governor Claude Kirk dies". The Florida Times-Union . Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Florida Constitution". Florida Constitution. pp. Article IV, §&nbsp, 5. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ray Osborne". Tampa Bay Times . September 3, 1970. p. 72. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Florida Constitution". Florida Constitution. pp. Article IV, §&nbsp, 2, clause b. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Billy Hathorn (April 1990). "Cramer v. Kirk: The Florida Republican Schism of 1970,"". Florida Historical Quarterly. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ Our Campaigns – FL Governor – D Primary Race – Sep 08, 1970
  7. ↑ Our Campaigns – FL Governor – D Runoff Race – Oct 03, 1970
  8. ↑ Martin A. Dyckman (2011). Reubin O'D. Askew and the Golden Age of Florida Politics. University Press of Florida. p. 416. ISBN   0813035716.
  9. ↑ Our Campaigns – FL Governor Race – Nov 03, 1970
  10. ↑ David Binder (December 14, 1998). "Gov. Lawton Chiles of Florida, Populist and Former Senator, Dies at 68". The New York Times . Retrieved September 26, 2016.
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