1994 Florida Treasurer election

← 1990 November 8, 1994 1998 →

Nominee Bill Nelson Tim Ireland Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,070,604 1,933,570 Percentage 51.7% 48.3%

County results Precinct results Ireland:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Nelson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No votes

Treasurer before election Tom Gallagher Republican Elected Treasurer Bill Nelson Democratic

The 1994 Florida Treasurer election took place on November 8, 1994 to elect the Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal of Florida, alongside many other elections in the state and around the country.

Incumbent Treasurer Tom Gallagher was term-limited and unable to run again. In his place, Democrat Bill Nelson was elected with 51.7% of the vote, defeating Republican State Rep. Tim Ireland. ^{[1] [2]}

Candidates

Democratic primary

• Bill Nelson, former member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 11th congressional district (1979-1991)
• Karen Gievers, lawyer and activist from Miami, Florida
• Fred Westman

Republican primary

• Tim Ireland, Member of the Florida House of Representatives from Florida's 75th State House district (1984-1992)
• R. K. "Skip" Hunter, insurance executive from Pensacola, Florida ^[4]

General election

Campaign

During the general election, Ireland accused Nelson of trying to intimidate insurance agents and company officials who supported Ireland, calling it "political terrorism." Nelson's spokesman flatly denied the accusation, accusing Ireland of trying to pump up a campaign that trails in money and name recognition. Indeed, Nelson had raised five times the amount of money that Ireland had by early October. ^[6]

Ireland also accused Nelson of taking $84,000 in illegal campaign funds, allegedly acquired during the week before the September 8 primary, which was prohibited. Nelson campaign manager Brian May claimed that the money was raised before September 1, but computer problems caused the contributions to be reported after the date. Nelson did not return the money. ^[7]

Results

References