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 County results Graham: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Eckerd: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1978 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978.Democratic nomineeBob Graham was elected, defeatingRepublican nomineeJack Eckerd with 55.59% of the vote.
Primary elections were held on September 12, 1978. The Democratic runoff was held on October 5, 1978.
Seventickets ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of Florida.
Jim Williams, the lieutenant governor, ran for governor with formerFlorida state senatorBetty Castor ofTampa, as his running mate.Hans G. Tanzler, themayor of Jacksonville, ran with Manuel "Manolo" Arques, aCuban-American real estate and insurance executive fromMiami.Florida secretary of stateBruce Smathers (who resigned to run) ran withstate representativeCharles W. Boyd.
Claude R. Kirk Jr. ofPalm Beach, who was theRepublicangovernor 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 anindependent and launching an abortive signature drive to get on the ballot as an independent. He chose as his running mateMary L. Singleton, the former director of the Florida Division of Elections and the first black woman to serve on theJacksonville City Council.[1]
| 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 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Graham | 482,535 | 53.55 | |
| Democratic | Robert L. Shevin | 418,636 | 46.45 | |
| Total votes | 901,171 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jack Eckerd | 244,394 | 63.84 | |
| Republican | Louis Frey Jr. | 138,437 | 36.16 | |
| Total votes | 382,831 | 100.00 | ||
| 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% | |||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
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