1982Final results
1982 election for U.S. Senate in Florida
U.S. Senate · Florida
Lawton Chiles (D) won with 61.7% of the vote, defeating Van B. Poole (R) by 23.5 points.
Lawton ChilesDemocrat · winner
61.7%1,637,667
Van B. PooleRepublican
38.3%1,015,330
2,653,419 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1982
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Lawton ChilesVan B. Poole
$848.3K
Raised by the campaign
$478K
$806.6K
Spent by the campaign
$472.5K
$0
Cash on hand
$0
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1982.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1982