1960 Florida gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1960 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 1960 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1960. Democratic nominee C. Farris Bryant defeated Republican nominee George C. Petersen with 59.85% of the vote.

1960 Florida gubernatorial election

← 1956 November 8, 1960 1964 →

Nominee C. Farris Bryant George C. Petersen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 849,407 569,936 Percentage 59.85% 40.16%

County results Bryant:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Petersen:      50-60%      60-70%

Governor before election LeRoy Collins Democratic Elected Governor C. Farris Bryant Democratic

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on May 3, 1960.^[1]

Democratic primary

30.4% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.^[2]

Candidates

• C. Farris Bryant, former State Representative
• Doyle E. Carlton Jr., State Senator
• W. Haydon Burns, Mayor of Jacksonville
• John Moore McCarty, State Senator
• Fred Dickinson, State Senator
• Thomas E. David
• Harvie J. Belser, former State Representative, State Representative^[3]
• Bill Hendrix
• George Downs
• Jim McCorvey

Results

Democratic Primary Runoff by county

  Bryant

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%
•   >90%

  Carlton

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	C. Farris Bryant	193,507	20.65
	Democratic	Doyle E. Carlton Jr.	186,228	19.87
	Democratic	W. Haydon Burns	166,352	17.75
	Democratic	John Moore McCarty	144,750	15.45
	Democratic	Fred Dickinson	115,520	12.33
	Democratic	Thomas E. David	80,057	8.54
	Democratic	Harvie J. Belser	30,736	3.28
	Democratic	Bill Hendrix	8,517	0.91
	Democratic	George Downs	6,320	0.67
	Democratic	Jim McCorvey	5,080	0.54
Total votes			937,067	100.00

Democratic primary runoff results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	C. Farris Bryant	512,757	55.21
	Democratic	Doyle E. Carlton Jr.	416,052	44.79
Total votes			928,809	100.00

Republican primary

2.9% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.^[2]

Candidates

• George C. Petersen, incumbent Broward County Commissioner.^[4]
• Emerson Rupert, hotelier and Republican activist.^[5]

Results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George C. Petersen	65,202	72.70
	Republican	Emerson Rupert	24,484	27.30
Total votes			89,686	100.00

General election

Candidates

• C. Farris Bryant, Democratic
• George C. Petersen, Republican

Results

1960 Florida gubernatorial election^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	C. Farris Bryant	849,407	59.85%
	Republican	George C. Petersen	569,936	40.16%
Majority			279,471
Turnout			1,419,343
	Democratic hold