Buddy MacKay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Buddy MacKay
United States Special Envoy for the Americas
In office March 5, 1999 – January 20, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Mack McLarty
Succeeded by	Otto Reich
42nd Governor of Florida
In office December 12, 1998 – January 5, 1999
Lieutenant	Vacant
Preceded by	Lawton Chiles
Succeeded by	Jeb Bush
14th Lieutenant Governor of Florida
In office January 8, 1991 – December 12, 1998
Governor	Lawton Chiles
Preceded by	Bobby Brantley
Succeeded by	Frank Brogan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 6th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	Bill Young
Succeeded by	Cliff Stearns
Member of the Florida Senate from the 6th district
In office November 5, 1974 – November 4, 1980
Preceded by	Jim Williams
Succeeded by	George G. Kirkpatrick Jr.
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
In office November 5, 1968 – November 5, 1974
Preceded by	Bill Chappell
Succeeded by	Wayne C. McCall
Constituency	30th district (1968–1972) 32nd district (1972–1974)
Personal details
Born	Kenneth Hood MacKay Jr. (1933-03-22) March 22, 1933 (age 90) Ocala, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Anne Selph ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	4
Education	University of Florida (BS, BA, LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1955–1958
Rank	Captain

Kenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay Jr. (born March 22, 1933) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 42nd governor of Florida for 24 days from December 1998 to January 1999, upon the death of Lawton Chiles. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 14th lieutenant governor of Florida from 1991 to 1998. During his career, he also served as a state legislator, a U.S. representative, and special envoy for the Americas.

Early life

MacKay was born to a citrus-farming family in Ocala, Florida, the son of Julia Elizabeth (Farnum) and Kenneth Hood MacKay. He served in the United States Air Force during the 1950s, and then attended the University of Florida, where he was tapped into Florida Blue Key and eventually received a law degree. MacKay was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame (the most prestigious honor a student can receive from UF) and was a member of The Board. He married Anne Selph in 1960; the couple has four sons.

Diplomacy and later life

Former Governor MacKay (right) with former Governor and Senator Bob Graham

After his governorship ended, MacKay retired from active politics. He, however, remains publicly active.

He was appointed by President Clinton as a special envoy for the Americas, being the second person to hold this position. During his tenure he traveled to 26 countries in the Americas, working on issues such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), hemispheric security, strengthening the rule of law, labor standards, environmental policies and human rights.

He attended a “Day with Florida Governors” symposium, organized by the University of Central Florida and Louis Frey Institute on March 27, 2006, with Governor Bush and former governors Claude Roy Kirk Jr., Reubin Askew, Bob Graham and Bob Martinez (Wayne Mixson, who served for three days after Graham's resignation, wasn't present).

MacKay's memoir about his political career, How Florida Happened, was published by the University Press of Florida in March 2010.

Electoral history

MacKay's gubernatorial portrait

Florida Senate, 6th district (1974)

• Buddy MacKay (D) – 26,418 (75.32%)
• Charles E. Curtis (R) – 8,655 (24.68%)

Florida Senate, 6th district (1978)

• Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – elected unopposed

United States Senate election in Florida, 1980 (Democratic primary)

• Richard Stone (Inc.) – 355,287 (32.08%)
• Bill Gunter – 335,859 (30.33%)
• Buddy MacKay – 272,538 (24.61%)
• Richard A. Pettigrew – 108,154 (9.77%)
• James L. Miller – 18,118 (1.64%)
• John B. Coffey – 17,410 (1.57%)

Florida's 6th congressional district, 1982

• Buddy MacKay (D) – 85,825 (61.35%)
• Ed Havill (R) – 54,059 (38.65%)

Florida's 6th congressional district, 1984

• Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – 167,409 (99.30%)
• Eric Tarnley (write-in) – 1,174 (0.70%)

Florida's 6th congressional district, 1986

• Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – 143,598 (70.16%)
• Larry Gallagher (R) – 61,069 (29.84%)

United States Senate election in Florida, 1988 (Democratic primary)

• Bill Gunter – 383,721 (38.00%)
• Buddy MacKay – 263,946 (26.14%)
• Dan Mica – 179,524 (17.78%)
• Pat Frank – 119,277 (11.81%)
• Claude Roy Kirk Jr. – 51,387 (5.09%)
• Fred Rader – 11,820 (1.17%)

Florida United States Senate election, 1988 (Democratic runoff)

• Buddy MacKay – 369,266 (52.00%)
• Bill Gunter – 340,918 (48.00%)

Florida United States Senate election, 1988

• Connie Mack III (R) – 2,051,071 (50.42%)
• Buddy MacKay (D) – 2,016,553 (49.57%)
• Adam Straus (write-in) – 585 (0.01%)

Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, 1990

• Buddy MacKay – 746,325 (69.49%)
• Tom Gustafson – 327,731 (30.51%)

Florida gubernatorial election, 1990

• Lawton Chiles/Buddy MacKay (D) – 1,995,206 (56.51%)
• Bob Martinez/J. Allison DeFoor (R) – 1,535,068 (43.48%)

Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, 1994

• Buddy MacKay (Inc.) – 603,657 (72.17%)
• James H. King – 232,757 (27.83%)

Florida gubernatorial election, 1994

• Lawton Chiles/Buddy MacKay (D, Inc.) – 2,135,008 (50.75%)
• Jeb Bush/Tom Feeney (R) – 2,071,068 (49.23%)

Florida gubernatorial election, 1998

• Jeb Bush/Frank Brogan (R) – 2,191,105 (55.27%)
• Buddy MacKay/Rick Dantzler (D) – 1,773,054 (44.72%)

Source: Our Campaigns – Candidate – Kenneth "Buddy" MacKay Jr.

See also

• In Spanish: Buddy MacKay