1970Final resultsIncumbent defeated
1970 Republican primary for Florida House District 82
Florida House of Representatives · Florida
Jon C. Thomas (R) won with 7.9% of the vote, defeating Richard A. Bird (R) by 2.1 points.
Jon C. ThomasRepublican · winner
7.9%27,342
George L. CaldwellRepublican · winner · incumbent
7.8%27,149
Joel K. GustafsonRepublican · winner · incumbent
7.6%26,267
George WilliamsonRepublican · winner
7.1%24,672
Dave SmithRepublican · winner
7.1%24,527
Fred Welker Jr.Republican · winner
6.8%23,376
Charles Jim KingRepublican · winner · incumbent
6.7%23,055
Richard A. BirdRepublican · incumbent
5.8%20,148
Van B. PooleRepublican
5.8%20,093
C. Lavon WardRepublican · incumbent
5.5%18,896
Donald L. HaxbyRepublican
5.3%18,429
Constance M. LoucksRepublican
5.0%17,381
Edward L. DobbinRepublican
5.0%17,381
Arthur H. RudeRepublican · incumbent
5.0%17,301
Henry J. ProminskiRepublican · incumbent
4.4%15,175
Carole MericleRepublican
4.1%14,156
Joseph M. Martinez Jr.Republican · incumbent
3.1%10,614
345,962 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Jon C. Thomas (R)George L. Caldwell (R)Joel K. Gustafson (R)George Williamson (R)Dave Smith (R)Fred Welker Jr. (R)Charles Jim King (R)Richard A. Bird (R)Van B. Poole (R)C. Lavon Ward (R)Donald L. Haxby (R)Constance M. Loucks (R)Edward L. Dobbin (R)Arthur H. Rude (R)
Also on the ballot: Henry J. Prominski (Republican), 4.4%; Carole Mericle (Republican), 4.1%; Joseph M. Martinez Jr. (Republican), 3.1%