# 1978 Florida gubernatorial election

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vte :
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.

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 1,037,533 | 100.00 |
Democratic primary runoff results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bob Graham | 482,535 | 53.55 |
| | Democratic | Robert L. Shevin | 418,636 | 46.45 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 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 results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jack Eckerd | 244,394 | 63.84 |
| | Republican | Louis Frey Jr. | 138,437 | 36.16 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 382,831 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* Bob Graham, Democratic
* Jack Eckerd, Republican

### Results

1978 Florida gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bob Graham/ Wayne Mixson | 1,406,580 | 55.59% |
| | Republican | Jack Eckerd/ Paula Hawkins | 1,123,888 | 44.41% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 282,692 | 11.18% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,530,468 | 100.00% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | |