Lawton Chiles

Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician and military officer.

He graduated in 1952.

Following his college years, Chiles entered the Korean War, commissioned as an artillery officer in the United States Army.

A Korean War veteran, Chiles later returned to Florida for law school and eventually opened his own private practice in 1955.

After the war, Chiles returned to the University of Florida for law school, from which he graduated in 1955; he passed the state bar exam that year and went into private practice in Lakeland.

He married Rhea Grafton.

Three years later, Chiles entered politics with a successful bid for the Florida House of Representatives in 1958.

In 1958, Chiles, a Democrat, was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.

It was essentially still a one-party state, as most African Americans were disfranchised by a constitution and laws passed since the turn of the century.

By 1966, Chiles left the Florida House to run for the Florida Senate.

Chiles served in the House until 1966, when he was elected to a seat in the Florida Senate, which he held until 1970.

While in the state senate, Chiles served on the 1968 Florida Law Revision Commission.

During his time in the state legislature, Chiles continued to work as a lawyer and developer in Lakeland.

He was one of the initial investors in the Red Lobster restaurant chain.

He was a member of the Florida Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

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.

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.

A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Florida from 1971 to 1989 and as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998.

Chiles was re-elected with relative ease in 1976 and 1982.

He retired from the United States Senate in 1989.

Not long after his retirement, 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 (56.5% to 43.5%).

During his first term as Governor, Chiles reformed health care and oversaw recovery efforts from Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Chiles faced a tough re-election bid in 1994 against Jeb Bush, a businessman and son of former President George H. W. Bush.

Chiles prevailed over Bush by fewer than 64,000 votes.

During his second term, Chiles reformed education in Florida.

As of to date, Chiles's reelection in 1994 is the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Florida, with McKay being the most recent Democratic governor.

Chiles was born in Polk County, Florida near Lakeland, the son of Margaret Kate (née Patterson) and Lawton Mainor Chiles.

He attended public school at Lakeland High School, then the University of Florida at Gainesville.

At the University of Florida, he was active in student politics.

Chiles was a member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society Cockrell Inn and was inducted into both the university Hall of Fame (the most prestigious honor a student can receive at UF) and Florida Blue Key.

He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

On December 12, 1998, he suffered a heart arrhythmia and died at the Florida Governor's Mansion, leaving Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay to serve the remaining 24 days of Chiles' unexpired term.

Jeb Bush succeeded MacKay.