Lawton Chiles' Niece Runs for U.S. Senate

LAKELAND | Two U.S. senators from the same family?
It's rare, but it could happen if state Sen. Kay Ruthven Hagan, the niece of the late senator from Florida and governor, Lawton Chiles, wins in North Carolina next year.

Hagan, 54, is the daughter of Joe Ruthven and the late Jeannette Chiles Ruthven.
She was born in Shelby, N.C., and grew up in Lakeland. ..... In 1998 she ran for the North Carolina Senate.
Her famous Uncle Lawton, then governor of Florida, journeyed to the state and walked her district with her and then-North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt. .....
She won that first race and has been re-elected each time since then.

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(Hagan).. said she was always aware of the political genius of Lawton Chiles and hopes to duplicate it in the 2008 elections.
"He obviously was a great mentor to me. As a teenager and young adult growing up in Lakeland, I knew there was this wonderful man in office and moving up higher who was concerned with the working person. And his grassroots ability was phenomenal. He knew a lot of people all over the state and that is what I intend to do in each of the 100 counties here in North Carolina," she said.

Hagan has an uphill battle in the North Carolina race. At least one other Democrat has entered the primary race. Then the winner must go against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole. .....
"I wouldn't have gotten into the race if I didn't feel Elizabeth Dole was vulnerable," Hagan said. "Since she won election (in 2002) she has seldom been seen in North Carolina, and most people can't name one thing she has done while up in Washington.''

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But Gov. Chiles rallied, lampooned his opponent as an amateur with no real knowledge of the state, its problems or its people. He warned his younger opponent that "the old he-coon walks just before the light of day," predicting his own savvy, come-from-behind victory. The Republicans made huge advances in Florida in 1994, winning the state Senate for the first time in a century, but they did not unseat Gov. Chiles.

The governor relished this above all victories, celebrating it by wearing a long raccoon coat at his inauguration.

The 'He-Coon' speaks


"The old he-coon walks just before the light of day."

-- Final debate with Jeb Bush, Nov. 1, 1994, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Bush looked baffled. Chiles was implying he would score a come-from-behind victory, which he did.


"It's sort of like saying, "Don't mess with the Lone Ranger.' "

-- Backstage after the debate, explaining his enigmatic "he-coon" comment.


"You know how a deer looks in headlights? That's the sight I saw last night."

-- The day after the debate.

December 5, 2006


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --Former President George H.W. Bush broke down in tears as he cited his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, as an example of leadership.
Bush was addressing lawmakers, his son's top administrators, and state workers gathered in the House chamber Monday for the last of the governor's leadership forums.

He said he was proud of how his son handled losing the 1994 governor's race to popular incumbent Democrat Lawton Chiles, and vaguely referred to dirty tricks in the campaign. :eyes:

"He didn't whine about it. He didn't complain," the former president said before choking up. As he tried to continue, he let out a sob and put a handkerchief to his face. When he spoke again, his words were broken up by pauses as he tried to regain composure.

"A true measure of a man is how you handle victory and how you handle defeat, so in '94 Floridians chose to rehire the governor. They took note of his worthy opponent, who showed with not only words but with actions what decency he had," Bush said before again sobbing.

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