The 1982 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic governor

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

was re-elected in a landslide, defeating Republican nominee

Skip Bafalis Louis Arthur "Skip" Bafalis (September 28, 1929 – March 10, 2023) was an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 10th congressional district from 1973 to 1983. A member of the Republican Party, ...

with 64.70% of the vote. Bafalis was the last Florida Republican gubernatorial nominee never to have won at least one gubernatorial election in his career.

Primary elections

Primary elections Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

were held on September 7, 1982.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, incumbent

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Wayne Mixson John Wayne Mixson (June 16, 1922 – July 8, 2020) was an American politician, farmer, and Navy veteran who served as the 39th governor of Florida for three days in January 1987, after having served as the 12th lieutenant governor of Florida ...

, incumbent

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

*Fred Kuhn *

Bob Kunst Bob Kunst (born 1941) is an American gay rights activist and perennial candidate. Early life Kunst was born in 1941 in Miami Beach, Florida. He worked in marketing for the Miami Toros professional soccer team in the 1970s. Gay rights activis ...

, gay rights activist and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

Results

1982_Florida_Gubernatorial_Democratic_Primary_by_county

Republican primary

Candidates

* Louis A. (Skip) Bafalis,

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

North Palm Beach North Palm Beach is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The village won an award from the National Association of Home Builders as best planned commun ...

**Leo Callahan,

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

chief of police *Vernon Davids, attorney

Results

1982_Florida_Gubernatorial_Republican_Primary_by_county

General election

Candidates

*Bob Graham, Democratic *Skip Bafalis, Republican

Results

References

Bibliography

* {{FlGovElections

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

November 1982 in the United States