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| Turnout | 49.5%[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
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   Bush: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% MacKay: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No votes | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Florida |
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 Government |
The 1998 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998, to determine the Governor for the State of Florida. Two-term Democratic incumbent Governor Lawton Chiles was term-limited and could not run for re-election. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, who had previously run for governor in 1994 was the Republican nominee, and incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay was the Democratic nominee. Bush defeated MacKay by nearly 11% of the vote, and won his first of two terms as governor.
Jeb Bush was one of four GOP pickups nationwide in the 1998 gubernatorial elections. Nonetheless, the Republican party still netted a loss of one governorship. With his win, Republicans won a trifecta in the state for the first time since 1875.
On December 12, 1998, incumbent Governor Lawton Chiles suddenly died of a heart attack,[2] thrusting MacKay into the governor's office, for which he had just lost the election, for 24 days. This was the second election in which MacKay had unsuccessfully run to succeed Chiles in an elected office, the first being the 1988 Senate race.
- ^ "November 3, 1998 General Election". Florida Department of State. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ Lucy Morgan and Peter Wallsten (December 13, 1998). "Apparent heart attack claims "He-Coon' at 68". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
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