1988Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1988 election for Florida's 4th District
U.S. House · Florida
Craig James (R) won with 50.2% of the vote, defeating Bill Chappell (D) by 0.3 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Craig JamesRepublican · winner
50.2%125,608
Bill ChappellDemocrat
49.8%124,817
250,425 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 1988
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.
Bill ChappellCraig James
$955.5K
Raised by the campaign
$316.3K
$1.1M
Spent by the campaign
$313.5K
$42.7K
Cash on hand
$2.8K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1988.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1988