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 County results Congressional district results Precinct resultsChiles: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Bush: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% No votes | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1994 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic governorLawton Chiles won re-election over RepublicanJeb Bush, who later won Florida’s governorship in 1998 when Chiles was term-limited. This race was the second-closest gubernatorial election in Florida history sinceReconstruction, due to thestrong Republican wave of 1994. As of 2025, this is the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Florida.
Incumbent Lawton Chiles was eligible to run for a second four-year term under theConstitution of Florida. In late 1991, Chiles's disapproval rating rose significantly after he cut funds for education in his first budget. Around 75% of Floridians gave him a fair or poor performance rating.[1] The following year, Chiles's approval rating fell to only 22% and his disapproval reached 76% after the state's perceived inadequate response toHurricane Andrew.[2] His disapproval rating remained as high as 71% into 1993. As a result, some Democrats suggested thatU.S. SenatorBob Graham run for a third, non-consecutive term as governor.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lawton Chiles (incumbent) | 603,657 | 72.17% | |
| Democratic | Jack Gargan | 232,757 | 27.83% | |
| Total votes | 836,414 | 100.00% | ||
Ander Crenshaw was dogged by campaign finance issues after his announcement, beginning with a rumor that his campaign had asked donors to postdate checks by months.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jeb Bush | Ander Crenshaw | Ken Connor | Tom Gallagher | Jim Smith | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason-Dixon | October 7–10, 1993 | 301 (RV) | ± 5.5% | 19% | 4% | 1% | 27% | 10% | 2% |
Arunoff primary election was scheduled to be held between leading candidateJeb Bush and second-place candidateJames C. Smith because no candidate received a majority of the vote. However, Smith dropped out of the race a few days later, leaving Bush as the Republican nominee for governor.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeb Bush | 411,680 | 45.68% | |
| Republican | Jim Smith | 165,869 | 18.40% | |
| Republican | Tom Gallagher | 117,067 | 12.99% | |
| Republican | Ander Crenshaw | 109,148 | 12.11% | |
| Republican | Kenneth L. Connor | 83,945 | 9.31% | |
| Republican | Josephine A. Arnold | 8,326 | 0.92% | |
| Republican | Bob Bell | 5,202 | 0.58% | |
| Total votes | 901,237 | 100.00% | ||
Bush ran as a political conservative, and tried to paint Chiles as beholden to liberal interests. At one point, when asked what he would do forAfrican Americans, Bush responded: "It's time to strive for a society where there's equality of opportunity, not equality of results. So I'm going to answer your question by saying: probably nothing."[6]
The final weeks of the campaign was described as "one of the nastiest in Florida political history."[7]
On October 18, a debate that was broadcast by 36 radio stations was held atWalt Disney World inOrlando. Bush and Chiles stood behind two lecterns decorated withMickey Mouse ears.[8]
Anotherdebate between Bush and Chiles was conducted by theLeague of Women Voters of Florida atTampa Performing Arts Center on November 1. Early in the debate, Chiles again criticized Bush's ad about the death penalty, stating that Bush had outdone his father's ad aboutWillie Horton and saying "You knew [the ad] was false. You admitted it was false. And I am ashamed that you would use the loss of a mother in an ad like this." Later, during a discussion about school vouchers, Chiles quipped "My mama told me, 'sticks and stones will break my bones,' but names will never hurt me. But let me tell you one other thing about the old liberal. The old He-Coon walks just before the light of day." This referenced Chiles'Florida cracker roots, and served as a deliberate contrast with the more urbane Bush.[9]
In a poll conducted by Associated Industries of Florida between November 3 and November 4, Chiles led Bush by 48%-43%, with a margin of error of 3.5%.[10]
On the day before the election, a bloc of Chiles' campaign used get-out-the-vote phone calls to about 70,000 people. These calls alleged that Bush was a "tax cheat" and that his running mateTom Feeney planned to destroy Social Security. The information was falsely attributed to a "tax fairness" and a senior citizen advocacy organizations. Chiles denied authorizing the phone calls but still later apologized[1] when the media discovered top officials in his campaign had authorized them. When the Florida legislature investigated the calls, Chiles claimed he was "out of the loop."[11] Chiles' ultimate margin of victory in the election was less than 64,000 votes.
Throughout the campaign, Bush raised approximately $7 million, more than half of which came from fundraisers featuring his parents and out-of-state fundraisers sponsored by hisfamily and friends. On each ofBarbara and George H. W. Bush's visits to Florida, they raked in about $1 million for the campaign.[12] Chiles limited contributions to $100 per person and raised $6.23 million, which included $2 million in public money.[1]
| Opinion poll source | Date | Lawton Chiles (D) | Jeb Bush (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associated Industries of Florida[10] | Nov. 3-4, 1994 | 48% | 43% |
| Mason-Dixon | Nov. 1-3, 1994 | 48% | 45% |
| The New York Times | Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 1994 | 47% | 41% |
| Orlando Sentinel | Nov. 1, 1994 | 48% | 45% |
| Associated Industries of Florida[10] | Oct. 30, 1994 | 45% | 45% |
| St. Petersburg Times | Oct. 16, 1994 | 39% | 49% |
| Mason-Dixon | Oct. 7, 1994 | 43% | 48% |
| Mason-Dixon | Sep. 1-3, 1994 | 43% | 48% |
| Mason-Dixon | Aug. 1-3, 1994 | 44% | 41% |
| Mason-Dixon | July 1–3, 1994 | 46% | 35% |
| Mason-Dixon | Feb. 1-3, 1994 | 42% | 38% |
| Mason-Dixon | Oct. 1-3, 1993 | 41% | 32% |
Chiles prevailed against Bush, winning 2,135,008 votes against Bush's 2,071,068 – a margin of about 1.52%. Additionally, write-in candidates G. G. Boone and C. C. Reed garnered 556 and 27 votes, respectively. With the election occurring during the1994Republican Revolution, Chiles was one of only two Democraticgovernors nationwide in close competitive races to hold onto his seat that night (the other beingZell Miller). In Florida alone, Republicans took over the State Senate for the first time in over a century,U.S. SenatorConnie Mack III wasre-elected in a landslide,Sandra Mortham defeatedRon Saunders forSecretary of State,Gerald A. Lewis was ousted by Robert Milligan forComptroller, andFrank Brogan, who would run as Bush's running mate in1998, was re-elected asCommissioner of Education. Also following in the conservative tone of the night, a statewide ballot initiative to legalizecasinogambling was defeated in a 62%-38%landslide.[13][14]
During the course of the campaign, Chiles again successfully carried out his "Dixie-Dade Strategy"—winning bothDixie andDade (now known as Miami-Dade) counties. Chiles also carried the other two major metropolitan counties inSouth Florida –Broward andPalm Beach. However, he failed to win the Cuban voters in Miami. In comparison with the 1990 election, Chiles performed significantly worse inNorth andCentral Florida, where he lost his nativePolk County. Although he lost several counties in thePanhandle, Chiles' largest margin of victory was inGadsden County – the only predominantly African-American county in Florida. Bush received his highest percentages of victory in several rural counties in the northern portion of the state, especiallyBaker,Clay, andUnion counties.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lawton Chiles (incumbent) | 2,135,008 | 50.75% | −5.76% | |
| Republican | Jeb Bush | 2,071,068 | 49.23% | +5.75% | |
| Write-in | 583 | 0.0% | 0% | ||
| Majority | 63,940 | 1.52% | −11.51% | ||
| Turnout | 4,206,659 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
| County | Chiles% | Chiles# | Bush% | Bush# | Others% | Others# | Total# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alachua | 61.8% | 35,030 | 38.2% | 21,624 | 0% | 7 | 56,661 |
| Baker | 31.5% | 1,654 | 68.5% | 3,600 | 0% | 0 | 5,254 |
| Bay | 43.1% | 17,816 | 56.9% | 23,498 | 0% | 2 | 41,316 |
| Bradford | 37.1% | 2,642 | 62.9% | 4,470 | 0% | 0 | 7,112 |
| Brevard | 46.6% | 72,393 | 53.4% | 82,878 | 0% | 6 | 155,277 |
| Broward | 65.4% | 261,368 | 34.6% | 138,333 | 0% | 11 | 399,712 |
| Calhoun | 50.5% | 1,811 | 49.5% | 1,775 | 0% | 0 | 3,586 |
| Charlotte | 46.3% | 24,159 | 53.7% | 27,965 | 0% | 0 | 52,124 |
| Citrus | 49.3% | 20,094 | 50.7% | 20,633 | 0% | 5 | 40,732 |
| Clay | 29.1% | 9,986 | 70.9% | 24,290 | 0% | 1 | 34,276 |
| Collier | 38.6% | 22,860 | 61.4% | 36,370 | 0% | 0 | 59,230 |
| Columbia | 41.6% | 5,288 | 58.3% | 7,408 | 0% | 0 | 12,696 |
| DeSoto | 45.6% | 2,856 | 54.4% | 3,407 | 0% | 0 | 6,263 |
| Dixie | 50.2% | 2,003 | 49.7% | 1,981 | 0% | 5 | 3,989 |
| Duval | 42.5% | 80,945 | 57.2% | 108,900 | 0% | 471 | 190,316 |
| Escambia | 42.2% | 33,210 | 57.7% | 45,261 | 0% | 1 | 78,472 |
| Flagler | 52.6% | 7,954 | 47.4% | 7,160 | 0% | 0 | 15,114 |
| Franklin | 66.6% | 2,636 | 33.4% | 1,324 | 0% | 0 | 3,960 |
| Gadsden | 69.4% | 7,751 | 30.6% | 3,422 | 0% | 0 | 11,173 |
| Gilchrist | 47.0% | 1,701 | 53.0% | 1,922 | 0% | 0 | 3,623 |
| Glades | 51.4% | 1,387 | 48.6% | 1,310 | 0% | 0 | 2,697 |
| Gulf | 56.7% | 3,060 | 43.3% | 2,339 | 0% | 0 | 5,399 |
| Hamilton | 50.4% | 1,453 | 49.6% | 1,429 | 0% | 0 | 2,882 |
| Hardee | 50.4% | 2,695 | 49.6% | 2,649 | 0% | 1 | 5,345 |
| Hendry | 44.2% | 2,623 | 55.8% | 3,308 | 0% | 0 | 5,931 |
| Hernando | 50.8% | 25,331 | 49.2% | 24,532 | 0% | 0 | 49,863 |
| Highlands | 45.7% | 12,323 | 54.3% | 14,617 | 0% | 1 | 26,940 |
| Hillsborough | 48.6% | 117,974 | 51.4% | 124,561 | 0% | 11 | 242,546 |
| Holmes | 42.0% | 2,134 | 58.0% | 2,942 | 0% | 0 | 5,076 |
| Indian River | 44.3% | 16,410 | 55.7% | 20,630 | 0% | 0 | 37,040 |
| Jackson | 46.9% | 5,907 | 53.1% | 6,698 | 0% | 0 | 12,605 |
| Jefferson | 61.3% | 2,575 | 38.7% | 1,625 | 0% | 0 | 4,200 |
| Lafayette | 45.9% | 936 | 54.1% | 1,105 | 0% | 0 | 2,041 |
| Lake | 49.5% | 29,797 | 50.5% | 30,394 | 0% | 0 | 60,191 |
| Lee | 43.8% | 58,785 | 56.2% | 75,365 | 0% | 0 | 134,150 |
| Leon | 63.4% | 47,323 | 36.6% | 27,265 | 0% | 1 | 74,589 |
| Levy | 51.5% | 4,588 | 48.5% | 4,322 | 0% | 0 | 8,910 |
| Liberty | 49.0% | 947 | 51.0% | 985 | 0% | 0 | 1,932 |
| Madison | 54.3% | 2,564 | 45.7% | 2,161 | 0% | 1 | 4,726 |
| Manatee | 49.1% | 40,473 | 50.9% | 41,915 | 0% | 0 | 82,388 |
| Marion | 44.7% | 31,345 | 55.3% | 38,784 | 0% | 1 | 70,129 |
| Martin | 45.1% | 20,706 | 54.9% | 25,239 | 0% | 0 | 45,945 |
| Miami-Dade | 52.0% | 215,276 | 48.0% | 198,371 | 0% | 1 | 413,648 |
| Monroe | 56.7% | 13,232 | 43.3% | 10,086 | 0% | 1 | 23,319 |
| Nassau | 34.8% | 5,331 | 65.2% | 9,968 | 0% | 0 | 15,299 |
| Okaloosa | 34.3% | 16,459 | 65.7% | 31,459 | 0% | 0 | 47,918 |
| Okeechobee | 49.6% | 3,492 | 50.4% | 3,545 | 0% | 0 | 7,037 |
| Orange | 48.0% | 85,098 | 52.0% | 92,096 | 0% | 0 | 177,194 |
| Osceola | 45.3% | 15,292 | 54.7% | 18,437 | 0% | 1 | 33,730 |
| Palm Beach | 61.3% | 198,638 | 38.7% | 125,208 | 0% | 3 | 323,849 |
| Pasco | 52.4% | 57,597 | 47.6% | 52,418 | 0% | 5 | 110,020 |
| Pinellas | 51.0% | 166,858 | 49.0% | 160,115 | 0% | 7 | 326,980 |
| Polk | 47.9% | 58,364 | 52.5% | 65,415 | 0% | 0 | 123,779 |
| Putnam | 39.8% | 9,658 | 52.1% | 10,505 | 0% | 0 | 20,163 |
| Santa Rosa | 36.6% | 11,726 | 63.4% | 20,345 | 0% | 4 | 32,075 |
| Sarasota | 47.4% | 60,770 | 52.6% | 67,531 | 0% | 0 | 128,301 |
| Seminole | 44.3% | 39,324 | 55.7% | 49,387 | 0% | 1 | 88,712 |
| St. Johns | 36.7% | 12,791 | 63.3% | 22,036 | 0% | 0 | 34,827 |
| St. Lucie | 50.5% | 27,956 | 49.5% | 27,436 | 0% | 0 | 55,392 |
| Sumter | 51.1% | 5,603 | 48.9% | 5,360 | 0% | 1 | 10,964 |
| Suwanee | 43.7% | 3,935 | 56.3% | 5,064 | 0% | 0 | 8,999 |
| Taylor | 49.6% | 2,979 | 50.4% | 3,024 | 0% | 0 | 6,003 |
| Union | 28.2% | 791 | 71.8% | 2,009 | 0% | 0 | 2,800 |
| Volusia | 53.2% | 66,614 | 46.8% | 58,632 | 0% | 34 | 125,280 |
| Wakulla | 59.7% | 3,696 | 40.3% | 2,492 | 0% | 0 | 6,188 |
| Walton | 43.8% | 5,067 | 56.2% | 6,493 | 0% | 0 | 11,560 |
| Washington | 47.8% | 2,968 | 52.2% | 3,240 | 0% | 0 | 6,208 |
After the election, the controversial phone calls were labeled "phonegate." Bill Cotterell of theTallahassee Democrat believed that the phone calls did not affect the result of the election: "I'm quite sure you know, at least half of them just hung up, never even listened to the message. And those who did probably said, well, that's ridiculous, the governor of Florida ... or the lieutenant governor of Florida can't repeal Social Security."Miami Herald writer Mark Silva also argued that phonegate did not impact the outcome of the election, saying that "[the] campaign was won before that happened. The idea that that somehow tipped the election was a canard, it wasn't true." In November 1995, Bush's campaign manager, J. M. "Mac" Stipanovich noted that "it's quite possible the Chiles campaign stole the election by fraud". Bush himself refused to speculate on the impact of the phone calls.[1]
Chiles testified under oath before astate legislative committee in December 1995, becoming the first modern governor of Florida to do so. He told theSenate Executive Business, Ethics, and Elections Committee that he had no knowledge of the "scare calls." After apologizing to any Floridians who may have been misled, the attempt to tie him to phonegate was reduced to a one-man operation led by then-State SenatorCharlie Crist. Later, Chiles passed a law banning false attributions for get-out-the-vote phone calls. Chiles remained governor of Florida until suffering a fatal heart attack on December 12, 1998, less than a month before his second term expired.[1]
Afterhis father lost re-election forPresident of the United States in1992, Jeb planned on running forpresident in 2000 after serving for six years as Governor of Florida. However, because he lost this election, his brotherGeorge, who was electedGovernor of Texas on thesame night, instead ran for president in 2000.[9] Jeb did run for governor again, however; he defeated Chiles' lieutenant governorBuddy MacKay in1998 and easily won re-election in2002.[9][16] Bush eventually did run for President in 2016 but was defeated in the Republican Party primary byDonald Trump.
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