United States Senate election in Florida, 1970

United States Senate election in Florida, 1970

November 3, 1970

Nominee Lawton Chiles Bill Cramer Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 902,438 772,817 Percentage 53.9% 46.1%

U.S. Senator before election Spessard Holland Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles Democratic

The 1970 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Spessard Holland decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Democrat Lawton Chiles won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Lawton Chiles, State Senator
• C. Farris Bryant, former Governor of Florida
• Frederick H. Schultz, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
• Alcee Hastings, attorney
• Joel Daves, State Representative

Campaign

Initially, Bryant, a well-known figure, was seen as a natural front-runner. Chiles, despite a twelve-year career in Legislature, was largely unknown outside his district. To generate some media coverage across the state, Chiles embarked upon a 1,003-mile walk across Florida. The 91-day walk earned him the recognition he sought, and the nickname that would follow him throughout his political career – "Walkin' Lawton."

Results

Primary election

Democratic Party primary results[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	C. Farris Bryant	240,222	32.90
	Democratic	Lawton Chiles	188,300	25.79
	Democratic	Frederick H. Schultz	175,745	24.07
	Democratic	Alcee Hastings	91,948	12.59
	Democratic	Joel Daves	33,939	4.65
Total votes			730,154	100.00

Runoff primary election

Democratic Party primary runoff results[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lawton Chiles	474,420	65.74
	Democratic	Farris Bryant	247,211	34.26
Total votes			721,631	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bill Cramer, United States Congressman from Florida's 8th congressional district
• G. Harrold Carswell, former Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• George Balmer, body shop owner

Campaign

A few months before the primary, Carswell was nominated by Republican President Richard Nixon to the United States Supreme Court, but was rejected by the United States Senate due to controversial statements. He later ran for public office, and was endorsed by Governor Claude Roy Kirk, Jr.. When Cramer was first elected in 1954, he was the first Republican member of Congress from Florida since Reconstruction. Cramer, being the only candidate with elected office experience, won the primary

Results

Republican Primary results[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Cramer	220,553	62.52
	Republican	G. Harrold Carswell	121,281	34.38
	Republican	George Balmer	10,947	3.10
Total votes			352,781	100.00

General election

Major candidates

• Lawton Chiles, State Senator
• Bill Cramer (R), United States Congressman from Florida's 8th congressional district

Results

United States Senate election in Florida, 1970[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Lawton Chiles	902,438	53.87%	-10.09%
	Republican	Bill Cramer	772,817	46.13%	+10.09%
Majority			129,621	7.74%	-20.17%
Turnout			1,675,255
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

1. "Tabulation of Official Votes, Florida Primary Election, Democratic and Republican, September 8, 1970 and September 29, 1970" (PDF). Florida Secretary of State. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
2. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved March 13, 2015.