page_title: Lawton Chiles
section_title: The 1,003-mile walk
hierarchical_section_title: Lawton Chiles / The 1,003-mile walk
caption_attribution_description: English: Pair of Lawton Chiles' walking shoes on display at the Florida Capitol. Photograph by J. Williams (Jan. 4, 2004).
context_page_description: Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. He served as a United States senator from 1971 to 1989 and as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 to 1998.
  A Korean War veteran, Chiles later returned to Florida for law school and eventually opened his own private practice in 1955. Three years later, Chiles entered politics with a successful bid for the Florida House of Representatives in 1958, as a member of the Democratic Party.
  By 1966, Chiles left the Florida House to run for the Florida Senate. Despite 12 years in the Florida Legislature, Chiles was relatively unknown when he decided to bid for United States Senate in 1970. He embarked on a 1,003-mile walk from Pensacola to Key West for his campaign, earning him the nickname "Walkin' Lawton". It was successful and Chiles defeated his opponent William C. Cramer by a 53.9%-46.1% margin. Chiles retired from the United States Senate and from politics entirely in 1989.
  However, supporters convinced him to run for Governor of Florida in 1990 against the unpopular incumbent Bob Martinez, and Chiles defeated Martinez by a 13-point margin.
context_section_description: In 1970, Chiles decided to run for a seat in the United States Senate. At the time, despite his 12 years in the state legislature, he was largely unknown outside his Lakeland-based district. To generate some media coverage and meet people across the state, Chiles embarked upon a 1,003-mile, 91-day walk across Florida from Pensacola to Key West. The walk earned him the recognition he sought, as well as the nickname that would follow him throughout his political career– "Walkin' Lawton". In his journal Chiles wrote that sometimes he walked alone, while other times he met ordinary Floridians along the way. In later years, Chiles would recall the walk allowed him to see Florida's natural beauty, as well as the state's problems, with fresh eyes. Some Florida reporters said that Chiles enjoyed campaigning much more than governing.
caption: Pair of Lawton Chiles' walking shoes on display at the Florida State Capitol.
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