43 Facts About Lawton Chiles

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

Lawton Chiles embarked on a 1,003-mile walk from Pensacola to Key West for his campaign, earning him the nickname "Walkin' Lawton".

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

Lawton Chiles 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 Lawton Chiles defeated Martinez by a 13-point margin.

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

Lawton Chiles was a member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society Cockrell Inn and was inducted into both the university Hall of Fame and Florida Blue Key.

Lawton Chiles was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

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

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

Lawton Chiles was a member of the Florida Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

In 1970, Lawton Chiles decided to run for a seat in the United States Senate.

In later years, Lawton Chiles would recall the walk allowed him to see Florida's natural beauty, as well as the state's problems, with fresh eyes.

Some Florida reporters said that Lawton Chiles enjoyed campaigning much more than governing.

The self-made Cramer depicted Lawton Chiles as coming from a "silver spoon" background with a then net worth of $300,000, but the media ignored questions about the candidates' personal wealth.

Lawton Chiles walked our streets and highways to hear what you have to say.

That's why a vote for Lawton Chiles is like a vote for yourself.

Lawton Chiles endorsed federal funding to remove waste from the bass-teeming Lake Apopka in central Florida.

Lawton Chiles relied heavily on his support from the retiring senator and former governor Spessard Holland.

Lawton Chiles noted that Cramer had expected to face former governor Farris Bryant, who like LeRoy Collins, Gurney's foe in 1968, had ties to the administration of President Lyndon B Johnson.

Lawton Chiles said that Cramer can bring Nixon, Agnew, Reagan, and anybody else he wants.

Lawton Chiles retorted that if Republicans controlled the Senate other southern Democrats would forfeit committee chairmanships earned through their seniority.

Lawton Chiles served as the chairman of the Special Committee on Aging of the 96th Congress, and in the 100th Congress served as chairman of the influential Senate Budget Committee.

Lawton Chiles retired from the Senate in 1989 and intended to retire from politics entirely.

Lawton Chiles ran a campaign to "reinvent" the state's government, and defeated Martinez to take office in 1991.

Lawton Chiles ran for re-election in the 1994 election against Republican Jeb Bush.

Lawton Chiles responded that he did not sign a death warrant because the case was still on appeal.

Lawton Chiles was implying that he was the he-coon, and just as the he-coon walked before dawn, he would score a comeback victory against Bush.

Lawton Chiles is the last Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in Florida.

Lawton Chiles won approval for a $2.7 billion statewide school construction program.

In 1995, Lawton Chiles sought treatment for a neurological problem that was later diagnosed as a mild stroke after he awoke with nausea, slurred speech and loss of coordination; and it would be determined dehydration might have caused the episode.

Lawton Chiles recovered fully, which was credited to prompt treatment.

Ineligible to run a third time, Lawton Chiles supported the lieutenant governor, his personal friend Buddy MacKay, in the 1998 Florida governor's race against Jeb Bush.

Lawton Chiles died suddenly shortly afterwards, at the age of 68.

Lawton Chiles was initially buried in a church cemetery in Tallahassee; however, within a year his wife had the body moved to a 200-acre tract 15 miles east of Tallahassee, a place they named Jubilee.

Lawton Chiles was succeeded in office by MacKay, who served until Bush's term began on January 5,1999.

Lawton Chiles was known as a health care and children's advocate throughout his career.

Lawton Chiles emphasized health coverage for the uninsured and led a campaign to create the National Commission for Prevention of Infant Mortality in the late 1980s.

In 1996, Lawton Chiles appointed a Governor's Commission on Education to examine the state's school system.

The bill passed both houses of the Florida State Legislature in early 1998, but was vetoed by Lawton Chiles, who stated that license plates are not the "proper forum for debate" on political issues.

Bush and Lawton Chiles agreed to make a joint appointment to avoid a lawsuit over the question.

Lawton Chiles' appointments formed the Supreme Court majorities that decided the following major cases:.

Lawton Chiles' niece was former US Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina, a Democrat elected in 2008.