United States Senate election in Florida, 1988
United States Senate election in Florida, 1988
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The 1988 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Connie Mack III won the open seat.[1]
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Buddy MacKay, U.S. Congressman
- Bill Gunter, Florida State Treasurer, former U.S. Congressman
- Dan Mica, former U.S. Congressman
- Pat Frank, State Senator
- Claude Kirk, Jr., 36th Governor of Florida
Results
Democratic primary runoff results[3] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
|
Democratic |
Buddy MacKay |
369,266 |
52.00 |
|
Democratic |
Bill Gunter |
340,918 |
48.00 |
Total votes |
710,184 |
100 |
Republican primary
Candidates
- Connie Mack III, U.S. Congressman
- Robert Merkle, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
Results
Republican primary results[4] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
|
Republican |
Connie Mack |
405,296 |
61.78 |
|
Republican |
Robert Merkle |
250,730 |
38.22 |
Total votes |
656,026 |
100 |
General election
Candidates
Campaign
This senate election was heavily targeted by both parties. U.S. Representative Mack announced his candidacy back in October 1987.[5] President Ronald Reagan endorsed Mack in June 1988[6] to allow Mack to focus on the general election, as he easily won the September 7th Republican primary against U.S. Attorney Robert Merkle.[7] In May 1988, MacKay announced he would run for the open seat,[8] and defeated Insurance Commissioner Bill Gunter in a close October 5 runoff primary election.[9]
The general election became very nasty. MacKay tried to portray the Republican as "extremist."[10] Mack attacked his opponent in television ads by connecting him to unpopular Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.[11] Mack had help from Vice Presidential candidate Dan Quayle.[12] The election was so close there was a recount until MacKay conceded eight days after election day.[13]
Results
General election results[14] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Republican |
Connie Mack III |
2,051,071 |
50.42% |
+12.15% |
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Democratic |
Buddy MacKay |
2,016,553 |
49.57% |
-12.15% |
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Write-ins |
|
585 |
0.01% |
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Majority |
34,518 |
0.85% |
-22.61% |
Turnout |
4,068,209 |
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References
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