Ron Sachs: Florida’s 1994 gubernatorial election — the year politics changed

Today — Nov. 8 — marks the 30-year anniversary of the 1994 re-election of Gov. Lawton Chiles against the very formidable Jeb Bush.

Somewhat stunningly and somewhat not, it was the last time a Democrat was elected Governor in Florida. Chiles’ narrow victory surely changed Florida and American history — in multiple ways.

“Walkin’ Lawton,” a truly modern Florida political legend, spent the better part of 1970 on a 1,000-mile-long trek across the Sunshine State in a low-budget campaign that vaulted the lanky but little-known Lakeland state Senator to the first of three terms as the state’s U.S. Senator. He was accomplished and respected by “both sides of the aisle” during his lengthy 18-year stint in Washington.

Chiles “retired” in 1988, frustrated by Washington gridlock, and he came back home and talked openly about battling deep depression. In 1990, Chiles was persuaded off the sidelines by lifetime friend, former Congressman Buddy MacKay, to stride back into the political ring.

With MacKay as his running mate, he challenged Democrat front-runner Bill Nelson for the “D” gubernatorial nomination — won — and then defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Bob Martinez, with a theme of “This time, the People Win.”

With increasing political power being earned by Republicans gaining strength in the Florida Legislature, Chiles’ first term was met with lots of “loyal opposition” to many of his policy proposals, like the “Fair Share” tax plan that sought to apply the state’s sales tax to lots of exempted professional services. The business community was revulsed and revolted — and the tax plan was rejected by the Legislature.

Long before “Obamacare” and the Affordable Care Act, Chiles created CHPAs — Community Health Purchasing Alliances — to make health care more affordable for individuals and groups all over the state.

Chiles launched the Healthy Start program to ensure pregnant mothers and their babies received care, education, and assistance to bring healthier children into the world and successfully through the critical “birth to five” early years of life.

It was — and still is — a stellar national model to reduce infant mortality.

But, compared to being the state’s beloved U.S. Senator — 1,000 miles away from home during his national D.C. service — being Governor made Chiles better known, daily, as the CEO who enjoyed “putting the ball in play.”

As the political executive in charge of running Florida daily, Chiles’ popularity somewhat understandably eroded from its zenith peak years in Washington, when he was far away and not a part of Floridians’ daily lives.

That made him vulnerable to a robust challenge from the GOP in their choice of rock star Jeb Bush to take down Chiles — whose undefeated record for every election in which he ever appeared on a ballot was in real jeopardy.

The stage was set for a 1994 slugfest for Florida’s future featuring the older, smart and wily Chiles, who delighted in “talking cracker,” and a much younger, brilliant, articulate Jeb Bush, who also could speak fluent Spanish. The contrast was extreme and palpable.

Businessperson Jeb up against career politician Chiles was Florida’s Super Bowl of politics. While Jeb had never run for office before, he did serve as the Martinez administration’s Secretary of Commerce. The race generated national prominence and interest because of Chiles’ proud lengthy resume and positive high profile and Jeb and the Bush family becoming the GOP’s equivalent of the Kennedys in their true devotion to public service.

There were only three joint appearances as debates: the first, an early evening appearance in front of Miami-Dade’s economic Beacon Council with a small audience and limited media. Jeb comfortably pivoted from English to Spanish — and Chiles’ counter was a not very urbane “cracker” reference.

The second debate was LIVE on statewide public radio — from Disney World, on a weekday. And during that one, Jeb’s jabs upset Chiles, who reacted with some rhetorical outbursts of anger. It wasn’t a good performance — not even close — by Florida’s senior statesman. He had laughingly repeatedly declined staff urging him to ‘train’ for these heavyweight bouts with a truly worthy opponent in Jeb.

I had the painful privilege of sliding into the FDLE escort vehicle with Chiles after that poor performance — his hunched posture and down demeanor reflecting the sinking-in reality. He knew he had blown it by blowing up on this statewide public radio debate that, fortunately, politically, didn’t attract a large audience.

Moments after getting into the car outside the debate hall, Chiles received a phone call from his “Inner Voice,” First Lady Rhea Chiles. He didn’t say much as she apparently lovingly scolded him about his performance. When the call ended, he turned around from the shotgun front seat in the FDLE cruiser and said to me: “OK. Let’s train for the next one.”

The next one was the only statewide LIVE televised debate of that race, broadcast from Tampa on all NBC stations and simulcast on C-Span nationally. Chiles repeatedly trained with a campaign staffer posing as Jeb, engaging in simulated debate as practicing political pugilists. It helped Chiles regain his footing against the very able, agile, attractive Jeb.

From the opening of the TV debate, Chiles faced from his podium directly toward Jeb and took the fight to him on everything from standing strong against Jeb’s criticism that he was weak on the death penalty to defending his policy positions against the younger challenger’s criticisms and ambitious plans.

But The Moment that was to be headlined and always remembered — for which he didn’t need any training — was when Chiles commented, unprompted, about how he felt about the tight closeness of the race with Jeb — in a career in which Chiles was undefeated.

His simple response: “The ol’ he-coon walks just before the light of day,” a magical reference to him being sure he would win the race.

It was a spontaneous moment that never had to be scripted. And rural Floridians who understood Chiles’ country charm went wild for it.

Late in the ’94 race, it was later learned, the Chiles campaign was accused of having phone banks make so-called “scare calls” to elder voters, alleging that Jeb’s policies might hurt their benefits and security. Chiles later apologized for the calls, but not the content, and some believe the calls turned a close election more in his favor.

On that Nov. 8, so long ago, the final count was Chiles and MacKay 50.75% of the vote; Jeb Bush and running mate Tom Feeney, 49.23%. A difference of less than 65,000 votes — at the time, a razor-thin victory.

Jeb Bush was kind to offer these generous, candid comments for us about the 1994 race:

“When young people ask me for political advice, I always start by saying, ‘Don’t run against a candidate who has never lost.’ In 1994, I lost against a man who never lost.

“While much was made of the ‘scare calls,’ I have always accepted the defeat was my responsibility. I didn’t share with the voters who I was, why I wanted to serve, what was in my heart. I gave the voters a ton of ideas — but I didn’t connect personally at first.

“What I learned in defeat in 1994 made me a better person and candidate going forward.

“One final thought: I accepted defeat pretty early in the evening in what, until then, was the closest (Florida gubernatorial) election in modern times. And, on my way home the next morning with my family, we saw Gov. Chiles on U.S. 1 thanking voters. I stopped and shook his hand. No big deal back then — but imagine that happening now.”

In his second term, Chiles doubled down on being the “Children’s Governor” and led a full-frontal assault on the tobacco industry with a lawsuit that eventually won historic billions to reimburse the state for the massive costs associated with caring for smokers victimized by the products’ deadly impacts.

In 1998, a more experienced, wiser, mature, and softer Jeb Bush won his race for Governor against Buddy MacKay, who inarguably owns the title of Florida’s most active, accomplished Lieutenant Governor.

When Chiles tragically died on Dec. 12, 1998, a few weeks before the end of his second term, MacKay rose to finish the administration’s work as Governor for those final few weeks.

Jeb Bush surely was a true and significant change agent — highly impactful as Governor in a two-term service that found him deftly leveraging the machinery of government to achieve his “BHAGs.” He became a national leader in his own right by his diverse achievements in education, mentoring youth and as the “Master of Disaster,” among many spheres he led.

I believe he and Jeb would have become good friends if Chiles had lived, even with policy differences.

Looking back, if Chiles had lost the ’94 election to Jeb Bush, Jeb would undoubtedly have won a second term in ’98, and halfway through it, he would have been the Bush brother anointed to run for President in 2000 — and he would have been a great POTUS.

As we know, George W. Bush’s ’94 surprise victory to become Governor of Texas instead positioned him to make that run halfway through his second term. Sliding doors of history create a lot of “what if” moments.

Today, Gov. Bush is Chair of Finback Investment Partners and a much-sought-after thought leader on a range of issues.

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Ron Sachs, the founder and Chair of Sachs Media, was Director of Communications for the Chiles administration from 1992-96.