1986 Florida gubernatorial election

← 1982

November 4, 1986

1990 →


Nominee	Bob Martinez	Steve Pajcic
Party	Republican	Democratic
Running mate	Bobby Brantley	Franklin B. Mann
Popular vote	1,847,525	1,538,620
Percentage	54.6%	45.4%

County results

Martinez: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

Pajcic: 50–60% 60–70%

Governor before election

Bob Graham
Democratic

Elected Governor

Bob Martinez
Republican

Federal government

Presidential elections
1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Presidential primaries
Democratic 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Republican 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate elections
1845 1848 1851 1855 1857 1868 1875 1879 1881 1885 1887 1890 1891 1897 1899 1903 1908 1911 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024
U.S. House elections
1845 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1865 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Special elections
Senate 1893 1899 1905 1909 1936 House At-large, 1845 6th, 1955 18th, 1989 1st, 2001 19th, 2010 13th, 2014 19th, 2014 20th, 2022
C.S. House elections
1861 1863 1st sp

State government

General elections
2006 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022
Gubernatorial elections
1845 1848 1852 1856 1860 1865 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1954 1956 1960 1964 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Attorney General elections
1970 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Chief Financial Officer elections
2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Agriculture Commissioner elections
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Senate elections
2018 2020 2022
House of Representatives elections
2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Ballot measures
2008 Florida Amendment 2 2014 Florida Amendment 2 2016 Florida Amendment 1 2016 Florida Amendment 2 2018 Florida Amendment 4 2020 Florida Amendment 2 2020 Florida Amendment 4

The 1986 Florida gubernatorial election took place alongside the midterm congressional elections. The Democratic Party won many victories across the country (including retaking the Senate). However, in Florida, where Democrats gained the Senate seat from Republicans, they lost the Governorship for just the second time since Reconstruction.

The primaries took place on September 2, the runoffs on September 30 and the general election on November 4, 1986.

Democratic nomination

Candidates

Mark Kane Goldstein, former Mayor of Gainesville^[1]
Harry Johnston, State Senator
Steve Pajcic, State Representative
James C. Smith, Attorney General of Florida
Joan Wollin, attorney^[1]

Democratic primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Pajcic	360,900	35.89%
	Democratic	James C. Smith	309,908	30.82%
	Democratic	Harry Johnston	257,906	25.65%
	Democratic	Mark Kane Goldstein	54,060	5.38%
	Democratic	Joan L. Wollin	22,691	2.26%
Total votes			1,005,465	100.00%

Democratic primary runoff results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Pajcic	429,527	50.64%
	Democratic	James C. Smith	418,614	49.36%
Total votes			848,041	100.00%

Republican nomination

Candidates

Republican primary results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Martinez	244,417	43.80%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	137,967	24.72%
	Republican	Tom Gallagher	131,265	23.52%
	Republican	Chester Clem	44,409	7.96%
Total votes			558,058	100.00%

Republican primary runoff results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Martinez	259,333	66.33%
	Republican	Louis Frey Jr.	131,652	33.67%
Total votes			390,985	100.00%

General election

Florida gubernatorial election, 1986^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Martinez	1,847,525	54.56%	+19.26
	Democratic	Steve Pajcic	1,538,620	45.44%	-19.26
	Write-in		27	0.00	N/A
Majority			308,905	9.12	-20.28
Turnout			3,386,172	100.00%	N/A
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b Blanton, Donna (August 31, 1986). "DEMOCRATS WAGE A 'BIZARRE' BATTLE". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
^ "Florida Department of State - Election Results".
^ "Florida Department of State - Election Results".
^ "Florida Department of State - Election Results".
^ "Florida Department of State - Election Results".
^ https://doe.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/Index.asp?ElectionDate=11/4/1986&DATAMODE= Archived 2011-10-03 at the Wayback Machine

v t e (1985 ←) 1986 United States elections (→ 1987)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Missouri Nevada New Hampshire New York North Carolina (special) North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Utah Vermont Washington Wisconsin
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Lt. Gov Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
State legislatures	Iowa Senate Minnesota House Senate
Attorneys General	California Florida Michigan
Mayors	New Orleans, LA San Diego, CA (special) San Jose, CA Washington, D.C.

v t e Florida gubernatorial elections
1845 1848 1852 1856 1860 1865 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1954 1956 1960 1964 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022