1954 Florida gubernatorial special election

none related races 1954 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1954 Florida gubernatorial special election Florida 1900 Presidential no 1952 Florida gubernatorial election 1952 1956 Florida gubernatorial election 1956 November 2, 1954 File:LeRoy Collins.jpg 150x150px LeRoy Collins Democratic Party (United States) 287,769 80.43% File:J. Thomas Watson.jpg J. Thomas Watson † Republican Party (United States) 69,852 19.52% 1954 Florida gubernatorial special election results map by county.svg 300px County resultsCollins: #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d0596 >90% Governor Charley E. Johns (acting) Democratic Party (United States) LeRoy Collins Democratic Party (United States) The 1954 Florida gubernatorial special election was held on November 2, 1954, to elect a successor to Daniel T. McCarty, who died in office on September 28, 1953. State Senator LeRoy Collins won the Democratic nomination in a three-way race against acting Governor Charley E. Johns and J. Brailey Odham. He defeated Johns in a run-off election with 54.8% of the vote. In the general election, Collins faced J. Thomas Watson, the former Attorney General who had switched his party affiliation to run as a Republican in the special election. However, Watson died two weeks before the election, and Collins won a landslide with 80.43% of the vote. Background On September 28, 1953, Governor Daniel T. McCarty, who was elected in the 1952 gubernatorial election, died in office of pneumonia. McCarty's death elevated Florida Senate President Charley E. Johns to acting governor and a special election for November 1954 was called to fill the position for the final two years of McCarty's term. The state constitution was revised in 1968 to establish a position of Lieutenant Governor who is first in line to succeed the governor.http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?submenu=3 Constitution of the State of Florida Online Sunshine: Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature Florida Legislature 28 March 2020 Primary elections Primary elections were held on May 4, 1954, with the Democratic runoff held on May 25, 1954. Democratic primary 30.1% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.Steed Moreland Baker 1980 26 Candidates LeRoy Collins, State Senator Charley E. Johns, incumbent acting Governor J. Brailey Odham, former State Representative Results thumb|Democratic Primary Runoff by county #678cd7 Collins #8da9e2 50–60% #678cd7 60–70% #53bfbf Johns #81d0d0 50–60% #53bfbf 60–70% #1eafaf 70–80% #106666 >90% Democratic primary resultshttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=734356 FL Governor, 1954 - Special D Primary Our Campaigns 27 March 2020Florida Handbook 1965-66 364Florida Secretary of State 1953-54 304-305 Charley E. Johns (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 255,787 38.39 LeRoy Collins Democratic Party (United States) 222,791 33.43 J. Brailey Odham Democratic Party (United States) 187,782 28.18 666,360 100.00 Democratic primary runoff resultshttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=734359 FL Governor, 1954 - Special D Runoff Our Campaigns 27 March 2020Florida Handbook 1965-66 364Florida Secretary of State 1953-54 320-321 LeRoy Collins Democratic Party (United States) 380,323 54.76 Charley E. Johns (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 314,198 45.24 694,521 100.00 Republican primary 1.6% of the voting age population participated in the Republican primary.Steed Moreland Baker 1980 26 Candidates J. Thomas Watson, former Florida Attorney General Charles E. Compton Results Republican primary resultshttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=734357 FL Governor, 1954 - Special R Primary Our Campaigns 27 March 2020Florida Handbook 1965-66 366Florida Secretary of State 1953-54 317-318 J. Thomas Watson Republican Party (United States) 24,429 67.89 Charles E. Compton Republican Party (United States) 11,552 32.11 35,981 100.00 General election Candidates LeRoy Collins, Democratic J. Thomas Watson, Republican Campaign Watson, the Republican nominee, died on 24 October. His name remained on the ballot.https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=61217 Watson, J. Tom Our Campaigns 27 March 2020Glashan 59 Results 1954 Florida gubernatorial electionhttps://books.google.com/books?id=HYKzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 America Votes 31: 2013-2014, Election Returns by State Cook Rhodes 81 CQ Press 2015 9781483383026 27 March 2020https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=131881 FL Governor, 1954 - Special Election Our Campaigns 27 March 2020Florida Handbook 1965-66 372Florida Secretary of State 1953-54 324-325 Democratic Party (United States) LeRoy Collins 287,769 80.43% Republican Party (United States) J. Thomas Watson 69,852 19.52% Write-ins 162 0.05% 217,917 60.91% 357,783 100.00% Democratic Party (United States) References Works cited The Florida Handbook, 1965-66 Tallahassee, FL The Peninsular Publishing Company Morris Allen 1965 https://archive.org/details/floridahandbook100morr/page/n1/mode/2up Florida Handbook 1965-66 Report of the Secretary of State of Florida, 1953-54 Gray R. A. 1955 Florida. Office of Secretary of State. http://www.archive.org/stream/reportofsecr19531954flor#page/n3/mode/2up Florida Secretary of State 1953-54 Glashan Roy R. American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978 Meckler Books 1979 0-930466-17-9 Glashan Steed Robert Moreland Laurence Baker Tod Party Politics in the South Praeger Publishers 1980 0030565863 1954 Florida Gubernatorial Gubernatorial 1954 Florida 1954 Category:November 1954 in the United States