1990 Florida gubernatorial election

1990 Florida gubernatorial election

← 1986 November 6, 1990 1994 →
 
Nominee Lawton Chiles Bob Martinez
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Buddy MacKay J. Allison DeFoor
Popular vote 1,995,206 1,535,068
Percentage 56.5% 43.5%

County results
Chiles:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Martinez:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Bob Martinez
Republican

Elected Governor

Lawton Chiles
Democratic

The 1990 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Republican governor Bob Martinez ran for a second term in office, but was defeated by Democratic challenger Lawton Chiles, a former U.S. senator.

Incumbent Republican governor Bob Martinez, who was just the second member of his party elected Governor of Florida after Reconstruction, was deeply unpopular. His job approval rating had sunk to around 24% after, in 1989, he called the Florida Legislature into special session in an effort to pass pro-life laws. None of the governor's proposals made it out of committee.

This was the last time that Seminole County voted Democratic until 2018. As of 2024, this remains the last time in which an incumbent Florida Governor lost reelection.