1994 United States Senate election in Florida

The 1994 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Connie Mack III won re-election to a second term. Mack also won every county in the state. Until the 2018 United States Senate Election in Florida, this would be the last time a Republican won Florida's Class I senate seat.

1994 United States Senate election in Florida
November 8, 1994
 
Nominee Connie Mack III Hugh Rodham
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,895,200 1,210,577
Percentage 70.5% 29.5%
County Results
Mack:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
U.S. Senators before election

Connie Mack III
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senators

Connie Mack III
Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

Results
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Connie Mack Unopposed 100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates
  • Arturo Perez
  • Hugh Rodham, public defender and brother to First Lady Hillary Clinton
  • Ellis Rubin, criminal defense attorney
  • Mike Wiley, talk radio personality and advocate of UFO conspiracy theories

Results
Initial primary results by county
Runoff results by county
Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hugh Rodham 255,605 33.78
Democratic Mike Wiley 188,551 24.92
Democratic Ellis Rubin 161,386 21.33
Democratic A. Perez 151,121 19.97
Total votes 756,663 100
Democratic primary runoff results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hugh Rodham 221,424 58.09
Democratic Mike Wiley 159,776 41.91
Total votes 381,200 100

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Rodham left the public defenders office to run for the United States Senate in Florida in 1994. He won the Democratic Party nomination by defeating Mike Wiley in a runoff election,[3][4] after earlier finishing first in a four-person primary field with 34 percent.[4] After the first primary, the third-place finisher, flamboyant Miami lawyer and perennial losing candidate Ellis Rubin,[5] joined forces with Rodham as a "senior executive consultant" and hatchet man.[6] In the presence of Rodham at a press conference, Rubin levelled the accusation that Wiley was hiding his Jewish faith by changing his name from his birth name, Michael Schreibman,[4][5] and that Wiley "changed his name before the campaign to deceive voters about his Jewish religion." Wiley accordingly refused to endorse Rodham after the runoff.[4] Rodham then lost by a 70%-30% margin to incumbent Senator Republican Connie Mack III in the general election.[7] Although Bill and Hillary Clinton both campaigned for him, his organization was unable to take advantage of their help,[8] he had few funds, almost no television commercials, and little support from the Florida Democratic party establishment in a year that saw Republican gains everywhere.[7][9] After the election, Rubin switched allegiance again and charged Rodham with election law violations in the first primary; the Federal Elections Commission eventually dismissed the allegations.[10]

Results
General election results[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Connie Mack 2,895,200 70.50 +20.10
Democratic Hugh Rodham 1,210,577 29.48 -20.12
Write-ins 1,039 0.02
Majority 1,684,623 41.02 +40.22
Turnout 5,856,731
Republican hold Swing

See also
Elections in Florida
Government
  • United States Senate elections, 1994

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-03-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2019-02-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Jessica Reaves (February 22, 2002). "The Rumpled, Ragtag Career of Hugh Rodham". Time Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2006.
  4. "Florida Vote Goes to Brother Of First Lady". The New York Times. October 5, 1994. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
  5. "More Anti-Semitism in Hillary's Closet". NewsMax. October 16, 2000. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
  6. Tom Fielder (September 22, 1994). "Rubin Joins Rodham Campaign, Rips Wiley" (fee required). The Miami Herald.
  7. "The Rodham Family Biography". CNN. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
  8. Michael Wines, "Clinton Finds Few Listeners at Rally in Miami", The New York Times, October 16, 1994. Accessed July 10, 2007.
  9. Lynn Sweet (February 23, 2001). "Politics thicker than blood?". The Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
  10. Tom Fielder (April 6, 1996). "FEC Dismisses Allegations Against Rodham Campaign" (fee required). The Miami Herald.
  11. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1994/94Stat.htm
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