View source for Reubin Askew

{{Short description|American politician (1928–2014)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Reubin Askew
| image               = Ruebin Askew official portrait.jpg
| caption             = Portrait, 1971
| office              = 7th [[United States Trade Representative]]
| president           = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| term_start          = October 1, 1979
| term_end            = December 31, 1980
| predecessor         = [[Robert S. Strauss]]
| successor           = [[Bill Brock]]
| order1              = [[National Governors Association#Chairs|Chair of the National Governors Association]]
| term_start1         = January 23, 1977
| term_end1           = September 9, 1977
| predecessor1        = [[Cecil Andrus]]
| successor1          = [[William Milliken]]
| order2              = 37th [[List of governors of Florida|Governor of Florida]]
| lieutenant2         = [[Thomas Burton Adams Jr.]]<br/>[[Jim Williams (Florida)|Jim Williams]]
| term_start2         = January 5, 1971
| term_end2           = January 2, 1979
| predecessor2        = [[Claude R. Kirk Jr.]]
| successor2          = [[Bob Graham]]
| state_senate3       = Florida
| district3           = [[Florida's 2nd Senate district|2nd]]
| term_start3         = November 6, 1962
| term_end3           = November 3, 1970
| predecessor3        = Philip D. Beall<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uflib.ufl.edu/fefdl/florida/Senate18452001.html/|title=Florida Senators|date=December 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229053123/http://uflib.ufl.edu/fefdl/florida/Senate18452001.html/|accessdate=January 4, 2025|archive-date=December 29, 2016}}</ref>
| successor3          = [[W. D. Childers]]
| office4             = Member of the <br/>[[Florida House of Representatives]]<br/> from [[Escambia County, Florida|Escambia County]]
| term_start4         = November 4, 1958
| term_end4           = November 6, 1962
| predecessor4        = J. B. Hopkins
| successor4          = Gordon W. Wells
| birth_name          = Reubin O'Donovan Askew
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1928|9|11}}
| birth_place         = [[Muskogee, Oklahoma]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2014|3|13|1928|9|11}}
| death_place         = [[Tallahassee, Florida]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Donna Lou Harper|August 1956}}
| children            = 2
| education           = [[Florida State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>[[University of Florida]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| signature           = Reubin Askew's signature.png
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| branch              = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears        = 1946–1948
| rank                = [[File:Army-USA-OR-05.svg|15px]] [[Sergeant]]
| unit                = [[82nd Airborne]]
}}
'''Reubin O'Donovan Askew''' (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an [[Politics of the United States|American politician]], who served as the 37th [[governor of Florida]] from 1971 to 1979. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], he served as the 7th [[U.S. Trade Representative|U.S. trade representative]] from 1979 to 1980 under President [[Jimmy Carter]]. He led on tax reform, [[civil rights]], and financial transparency for public officials, maintaining an outstanding reputation for personal integrity.<ref name="top50"/>

Born in [[Muskogee, Oklahoma]], Askew served as a military intelligence officer in the [[United States Air Force]] during the [[Korean War]]. He established a legal practice in [[Pensacola, Florida]], after graduating from the [[Fredric G. Levin College of Law|University of Florida Levin College of Law]] in 1955. Askew won election to the [[Florida House of Representatives]] in 1958 and to the [[Florida Senate]] in 1962. He defeated incumbent [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] governor [[Claude R. Kirk Jr.]] in the 1970 gubernatorial election and won re-election in 1974.

As governor, Askew presided over the imposition of the state's first [[corporate tax]]. He was one of the first of the "[[New South]]" governors and supported school [[desegregation]]. Askew is widely thought to have been one of the state's best governors; the [[Harvard Kennedy School]] at [[Harvard University]] rated him one of the country's top ten governors of the 20th century.<ref name="tampabay">{{cite news | url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/times-may-have-changed-but-former-florida-gov-reubin-askew-hasnt/2133837/ | title=Times may have changed, but former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew hasn't | work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] | date=July 29, 2013 | access-date=November 25, 2013 | author=Bosquet. Steve}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=If Gov. Rick Scott only had a heart|url=https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/the-tin-man-if-the-governor-only-had-a-heart/2167877/|access-date=March 13, 2014|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=February 28, 2014}}</ref> Askew was the keynote speaker at the [[1972 Democratic National Convention]] and declined an offer to serve as [[George McGovern]]'s running mate in the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 presidential election]].

Askew served as the [[Office of the United States Trade Representative|United States trade representative]] from 1979 to 1981. He sought the Democratic nomination in the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential election]] but withdrew early in the race. After leaving public office, Askew taught at the public universities of Florida.

==Early life and education==
Askew was born in [[Muskogee, Oklahoma]], the youngest of the six children of Leon G. Askew and Alberta (O'Donovan) Askew. His parents divorced when he was just two,<ref name="FT">{{Cite web |title=Icon: Reubin O'D. Askew |url=https://www.floridatrend.com/article/11102/icon-reubin-od-askew |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Florida Trend}}</ref> primarily because of what Askew said was his father's "serious drinking problem."<ref name=FT /> Two of his brothers later had similar problems.<ref name=FT /> Askew chose to be a lifelong [[Teetotalism|teetotaller]] and non-smoker after an unpleasant experience with a pipe as a teenager.<ref name="fsne.org"/> After a final meeting under unpleasant circumstances when he was ten years old, Askew never saw his father again.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pnj.com/story/local/2014/03/14/askew-dies-florida-mourns/6402313/|title=Askew dies, Florida mourns|work=Pensacola News Journal|access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Harvey">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NpoCgAAQBAJ|title=The Politics of Trust: Reubin Askew and Florida in the 1970s|last=Harvey|first=Gordon E.|date=November 2015|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=9780817318826}}</ref>

In 1937, his mother moved with Reubin to [[Pensacola, Florida]]. Askew's middle name, O'Donovan, was his mother's maiden name. His signature used the double initial (O'D.) in her honor.<ref name=FT /> Reubin would sell magazines, shine shoes, bag groceries and sell his mother's homemade pies to help supplement her income. Reubin's mother was a waitress and a seamstress for the [[Works Progress Administration]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harvey|first=Gordon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2O4--uusJ4C|title=A Question of Justice: New South Governors and Education, 1968-1976|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=2006|pages=6|isbn=9780817353247 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

In 1944, Askew was initiated as a member of Escambia Chapter [[Order of DeMolay]], the [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] organization for young men. He graduated from [[Pensacola High School]] in 1946. Later that year, Askew entered the Army as a [[paratrooper]], serving for two years in the [[82nd Airborne]];<ref>{{cite news |last=Barone |first= Michael |date=18 Sep 1983 |title=Reubin Askew: Not Afraid to Be Contrary |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/09/19/reubin-askew-not-afraid-to-be-contrary/1b179002-fe7c-4cf8-aa99-3d7e5a5bf292/ |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref> in 1948 he was discharged in the rank of [[Sergeant#United States|sergeant]].

Askew attended [[Florida State University]], where he was a brother of [[Delta Tau Delta]] and [[Alpha Phi Omega]]. At Florida State, Askew was elected as student body president, beginning his long career in politics. He graduated from Florida State University in 1951 with a [[B.S.]] degree in [[public administration]].<ref name="nga">[http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_florida/col2-content/main-content-list/title_askew_reubin.html "Florida Governor Reubin O'Donovan Askew"], National Governors Association, accessed November 25, 2013</ref> He later completed law school at the [[University of Florida Levin College of Law]].

==Career==
During the [[Korean War]], Askew served in the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] from 1951 to 1953, as a [[military intelligence]] officer. He oversaw the program for taking and analyzing airplane reconnaissance photographs of [[Western Europe]]. He felt uncomfortable with this task since he believed it violated existing treaties.<ref name="fsne.org">[http://www.fsne.org/sunshine/2009/profiles/askew/ GERALD ENSLEY, "Ex-Gov. Askew: Early champion of open government"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930094905/http://www.fsne.org/sunshine/2009/profiles/askew/ |date=September 30, 2017 }}, ''Tallahassee Democrat'', March 15, 2009, hosted at Florida Society of News Editors, accessed November 25, 2013</ref>

In 1955, Askew returned to [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]], where he formed a law firm with David Levin. The firm was called Levin & Askew, and now is named [[Levin Papantonio Law Firm]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Moon|first1=Troy|title=Ex-Gov. Askew is 'gravely ill'|url=http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/03/13/ex-gov-askew-is-gravely-ill/6356725/|access-date=August 28, 2014|publisher=Pensacola News Journal|date=March 12, 2014}}</ref>

==Legislative career==
[[File:State Sen Reubin Askew.jpg|thumb|Askew as a [[Florida Senate|Florida state senator]] in April 1968]]
In 1956, Askew was elected Assistant County Solicitor of [[Escambia County, Florida]], as a Democrat. In 1958, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, representing Escambia County. After serving two terms in the House, in 1962 Askew was elected to the [[Florida Senate]] from the 2nd district, also representing Escambia<ref name=":0" /> defeating Philip D. Beall in the primary election.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/TabulationofofficialvoteFloridaprimaryelections1962/page/n5/mode/2up |title=Tabulation of official vote. Florida primary elections : Democratic and Republican (1962) |publisher=Florida Secretary of State |year=1962 |pages=6 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He was reelected to a [[Redistricting|redistricted]] seat encompassing both Escambia and [[Santa Rosa County, Florida|Santa Rosa counties]] in 1966, and again in 1967 and 1968<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://archive.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/View_Page.pl?Tab=info_center&Submenu=8&Mode=Information%20Center&File=index.cfm&Directory=Info_Center/Archive/historical&Location=app|title=Historical Senate Journals & Rules|website=Florida Senate Archive|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509203717/http://archive.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/View_Page.pl?Tab=info_center&Submenu=8&Mode=Information|url-status=dead}}</ref> being unopposed in 1968.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/TabulationofofficialvoteFloridaprimaryelections1968/page/n5/mode/2up |title=Tabulation of official vote. Florida primary elections : Democratic and Republican (1968) |publisher=Florida Secretary of State |year=1968 |pages=2 & 3 (as numbered in the source document) |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

From 1969 to 1970, he served as president ''pro tempore'' of the Senate.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.floridamemory.com/fmp/territorial-legislative/PeopleOfLawmaking.pdf |title=The People of Lawmaking in Florida 1822 - 2019 |date=February 1, 2019 |publisher=[[Florida House of Representatives]] |editor-last=Takacs |editor-first=Jeff |access-date=September 5, 2022}}</ref> In 1971 he received the Legion of Honor from the [[DeMolay International|International Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reubin O'Donovan Askew |url=https://demolay.org/project/walter-red-barber-copy/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=DeMolay International |language=en-US}}</ref>

Askew emerged as a [[Progressivism|progressive]] lawmaker: he supported reapportionment in the state legislature in order to recognize changes in population distribution and increase representation for urban counties, which had a higher population than rural ones. The state houses had been apportioned by geographic county, resulting in inequities that did not represent current state conditions. Urban areas were underrepresented in the legislature. As was typical of many states, rural legislators had resisted reapportionment in order to retain power.<ref name="top50">{{Cite web |date=2003-09-15 |title=Reubin Askew - Top 50 Most Important Floridians of the 20th Century |url=http://www.theledger.com/static/top50/pages/askew.html |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=archive.ph |archive-date=September 15, 2003 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20030915152226/http://www.theledger.com/static/top50/pages/askew.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Askew opposed legal [[racial segregation]] and the continuing disenfranchisement of black voters. They had been [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era (United States)|disenfranchised]] since the turn of the century, when Florida had passed a new constitution with provisions for voter registration and elections that effectively blocked blacks from the polls. Passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] authorized the federal government to exercise oversight over jurisdictions in which classes of voters were historically underrepresented in voter rolls and voting patterns; African Americans were helped to re-enter the political system.

==Governorship==
{{Further|1970 Florida gubernatorial election|1974 Florida gubernatorial election}}
[[File:Askew inaugural address.jpg|thumb|Askew delivers his first inaugural address as [[Governor of Florida|Florida governor]] in January 1971]]
[[File:Jimmy Carter and wife with Reubin Askew and his wife.jpg|thumb|Askew and his wife with [[Jimmy Carter]] and his wife [[Rosalynn Carter]] in [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]] in April 1971]]
[[File:Reubin Askew signs a bill.jpg|thumb|Askew signs a bill into law]]
Askew won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1970. [[Secretary of State of Florida]] [[Thomas Burton Adams Jr.|Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.]], was his running-mate for lieutenant governor. In its endorsement of the Askew-Adams ticket, the ''[[Miami Herald]]'' reported that Askew had "captured the imagination of a state that plainly deserves new leadership." During the campaign, the incumbent Republican governor, Claude R. Kirk Jr., ridiculed his opponent Askew as "a momma's boy who wouldn't have the courage to stand up under the fire of the legislators" and a "nice sweet-looking fellow chosen by liberals...to front for them."<ref>''[[Miami Herald]]'' and ''[[Tallahassee Democrat]]'', October 30, 1970</ref> Such rhetoric helped to reinvigorate the Democratic coalition. Mike Thompson, who managed the 1970 Republican gubernatorial primary campaign waged by state representative [[Skip Bafalis|L. A. "Skip" Bafalis]], sat out the general election between Kirk and Askew. Thompson later said that the often acerbic Kirk had demolished "the coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats who elected him in 1966. ... The trail from [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]] to [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]] is littered with the bodies of former friends, supporters, and citizens -- all of whom made the fatal mistake of believing the words of Claude Kirk."<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Cramer v. Kirk: The Florida Republican Schism of 1970," ''Florida Historical Quarterly'' (April 1990), p. 416</ref>

With 57% of the vote, Askew and Adams unseated Kirk and Lieutenant Governor [[Ray C. Osborne]]. From 1887 to 1969, the Florida Constitution did not provide for a lieutenant governor. The change allowed the top two positions to be filled by running mates from the same political party.

In 1974, Askew was re-elected, with [[Jim Williams (Florida)|J. H. Williams]] as his running mate. He is one of seven Florida governors to have been elected for two terms (the others were [[LeRoy Collins]], [[Bob Graham]], [[Lawton Chiles]], [[Jeb Bush]], [[Rick Scott]], and [[Ron DeSantis]]). Askew was the first governor to serve two full four-year terms.

Through his two terms, Askew worked on tax reform. In 1971, he gained passage of the state's first corporate income tax.<ref name="top50"/> He also gained an increase in the homestead exemption.

Askew argued for transparency in government. He tried three times to get the legislature to pass a bill requiring financial disclosure by public officials. When they did not, he used a provision of the 1968 constitution, collecting sufficient signatures to put the measure on the ballot in 1976.<ref name="fsne.org"/> The voters passed the "Sunshine Amendment" by 78%, the first time the constitution was amended due to citizen action. It calls for full financial disclosure by public officials and candidates, a ban on gifts to legislators, and prohibits former officials from lobbying for two years after leaving office.<ref name="fsne.org"/>
At a time of government scandals, he established a reputation for personal integrity and was known as "Reubin the Good." According to a political foe, "He has established a kind of morality in office that causes people to have faith" in government.<ref name="top50"/>

In addition to dealing with state issues, Askew pursued collaboration with other governors: he chaired the Education Commission of the States (1973–1974), the Southern Governors' Conference (1974–1975), and the Democratic Governors' Conference (1976–1977).<ref name="nga"/> Governor Askew was chairman of the National Governors' Conference in 1977.<ref name="nga"/>

===Civil rights issues and the New South===
[[File:Askew and Hatchett.jpg|thumb|Askew with the family of [[Joseph Woodrow Hatchett]], who Askew nominated to become the first Black justice on the [[Florida Supreme Court]] in September 1975]]
Askew was one of the first of the [[New South governor]]s, elected in the same year as governors Jimmy Carter of Georgia, [[Dale Bumpers]] of [[Arkansas]], who defeated [[Orval Faubus]], and [[John C. West]] of [[South Carolina]]. They were later joined by [[Bill Clinton]] of Arkansas. Askew supported school [[desegregation]] and the controversial idea of busing to achieve racial balance (mandatory [[racial integration|integration]]).

He expressed a progressive model in his appointments, naming the first black Justice of the State Supreme Court, [[Joseph Woodrow Hatchett]].<ref name=FT /> He appointed [[M. Athalie Range]] as Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs; she was the first black person appointed to state government since [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]] and the first woman to head a state agency in Florida. In 1978, Askew appointed [[Jesse J. McCrary Jr.]] as secretary of state; he was the first black person to hold a [[Florida Cabinet|cabinet-level office]] in Florida in the modern era.

===Capital punishment===
After the 1972 [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] decision in ''[[Furman v. Georgia]]''  effectively overturned existing state laws for [[capital punishment in the United States]], Florida was the first state to enact a new death penalty statute,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state|title=State by State|website=Death Penalty Information Center|access-date=December 1, 2020}}</ref> which Governor Askew signed despite personally believing that the death penalty was appropriate only in rare cases.<ref>[http://www.floridacapitalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080703/COLUMNIST03/807030309 Askew's view on capital punishment], ''Florida Capital News'', July 3, 2008</ref> Afterward the Supreme Court accepted new state death-penalty laws in ''[[Gregg v. Georgia]]''. Immediately after the ruling, which effectively reinstated the use of the death penalty in the United States, Governor Askew began signing death warrants.<ref>Craig Brandon, ''The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History'', McFarland, 1999, {{ISBN|0-7864-0686-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7864-0686-9}}</ref> Executions were not resumed until the administration of his successor, Bob Graham.

Based on issues related to the cases of two life-sentenced inmates, [[Pitts and Lee v. Florida|Wilbert Lee and Freddie Pitts]], Askew ordered a new investigation, which found they had been wrongfully convicted of murder in 1963. Askew participated in part of the inquiry and in 1975 [[pardon]]ed both inmates, who had been removed from death row after the Supreme Court's decision halting capital punishment.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100715145315/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913486,00.html "Law: Twelve Years to Justice"], ''Time'' magazine, September 29, 1975</ref>

===Presidential politics===
Askew's national stature in the Democratic Party grew, and in 1972, he was the keynote speaker at the [[Democratic National Convention]] in [[Miami Beach]]. For the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 presidential election]], he was offered the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket with presidential nominee George McGovern, but he turned it down.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} He later accepted an appointment under President Jimmy Carter as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Ambassadorial Appointments.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

==Trade representative==
[[Image:ReubinAskew.JPG|thumb|Askew in 1983]]
Limited to two terms as governor by the Florida Constitution, Askew looked for his next opportunity. In 1979, he accepted President Jimmy Carter's invitation to serve as United States Trade Representative, continuing until Carter's term ended in January 1981. Askew was the first trade representative who held the title ''United States Trade Representative'', not ''Special Trade Representative'', as his predecessors were called.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ustr.gov/Who_We_Are/United_States_Trade_Representatives,_1962_-_Present.html?ht=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185628/http://www.ustr.gov/Who_We_Are/United_States_Trade_Representatives,_1962_-_Present.html?ht=|url-status=dead|title=USTR – United States Trade Representatives, 1962 – Present<!--Bot-generated title-->|archive-date=September 30, 2007|access-date=December 1, 2020}}</ref>

==1981 presidential campaign==
{{Further|1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries}}
Askew joined a [[Miami]] law firm and at the same time began to organize a bid for the [[1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1984 Democratic presidential nomination]]. He announced his candidacy on February 23, 1983, after making visits to all 50 states. The first serious presidential candidate from Florida{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}, Askew never gained traction within the national Democratic Party. Although progressive on civil rights, he was generally more conservative than other candidates. Askew was against abortion, believing life began at conception, and favored a constitutional amendment to overturn ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''. On other issues, he supported the ERA but was against gay rights, supported a nuclear freeze but opposed arms control, supported both gun control and the death penalty, and called for pulling American Marines out of Beirut but supported President Ronald Reagan's [[United States invasion of Grenada|invasion of Grenada]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harvey |first=Gordon E. |title=The Politics of Trust: Reubin Askew and Florida in the 1970s |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780817318826 |pages=151}}</ref> Askew withdrew on March 1, 1984, after he finished last in the [[New Hampshire presidential primary|New Hampshire primary]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Margaret |date=1984-03-02 |title=Askew, Hollings Retire to Sidelines |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/03/02/askew-hollings-retire-to-sidelines/f5eeab31-6918-4b3a-8723-ffcf0e7f1202/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127010054/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/03/02/askew-hollings-retire-to-sidelines/f5eeab31-6918-4b3a-8723-ffcf0e7f1202/ |archive-date=2024-01-27 |access-date=2024-01-07 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>

==1998 U.S. Senate campaign==
{{see further|1988 United States Senate election in Florida}}
[[File:Reubin Askew acknowledges applause by lawmakers at the opening of a joint session of the Legislature.jpg|thumb|Askew addressing the opening of a joint session of the [[Florida Legislature]] in April 2009]]

In 1987, Askew declared his candidacy for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fiedler |first=Tom |date=1987-12-22 |title=Askew's Senate bid now official |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbpNAAAAIBAJ&dq=reubin+askew+senate+bid+1987&pg=PA29&article_id=2934,3861427 |access-date=2024-01-27 |work=Lakeland Ledger |pages=1B}}</ref> But in May 1988, he withdrew from the contest, citing the need for perpetual fundraising.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dunkelberger|first1=Lloyd|title=Former Gov. Askew's legacy outlives him|url=http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2014/03/13/former-fla-gov-reuben-askew-dies/|work=The Herald-Tribune|date=March 13, 2014}}</ref> At the time of his withdrawal, he had lead in the polls. He endorsed Congressman [[Buddy MacKay|Buddy McKay]] afterwards.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flores |first=Ike |date=1988-05-08 |title=ASKEW QUITS SENATE RACE DESPITE LEAD IN POLLS |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/05/08/askew-quits-senate-race-despite-lead-in-polls/939ee73c-a155-4b30-bc55-aadaef83a5da/ |access-date=2024-01-27 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> Three days after dropping out, he resigned from his law firm, reportedly due to discontent from partners who had raised large amounts of money for Askew.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1988-05-10 |title=Askew resigns From Law Firm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgsqAAAAIBAJ&dq=reubin+askew+senate+bid+1988&pg=PA32&article_id=3072,7042430 |access-date=2024-01-27 |work=Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal |pages=1A |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

== Post-political career ==
In 1994,  Askew was named to the founding class of the Florida DeMolay Hall of Fame.

The [[Askew School of Public Administration and Policy|Reubin O'D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy]] at [[Florida State University]] was named for him. It offers courses in government at several Florida universities. From 1999 until his death, Askew gave a graduate seminar at the school, on topics of state and local government as well as international trade.<ref name="fsne.org"/>

For the ten years prior to that, Askew lectured and taught at each of the other ten public universities in the state.<ref name="fsne.org"/> In 1994, the [[Askew Institute on Politics and Society|Reubin O'D Askew Institute on Politics and Society]]  at the [[University of Florida]] was established to provide a center for bringing together people to work on state issues. Askew also lectured and participated in conferences there.

==Personal life==
Askew married Donna Lou Harper in August 1956.<ref name=FT /> He proposed to her two weeks after the first date, and they married five months after. By all accounts, the two enjoyed a very happy marriage, and Askew remained faithful to her.<ref name="Harvey"/> They had two adopted children; a daughter and a son. Throughout his life, Askew refrained from smoking, drinking, swearing, and gambling.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NpoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA182|title=The Politics of Trust: Reubin Askew and Florida in the 1970s|last=Harvey|first=Gordon E.|date=November 2015|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=9780817318826}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ensley|first=Gerald|title=Ex-Gov. Askew: Early champion of open government|website=Florida Society of News Editors|date=15 March 2009|url=http://www.fsne.org/sunshine/2009/profiles/askew/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930094905/http://www.fsne.org/sunshine/2009/profiles/askew/|archive-date=30 September 2017}}</ref>

==Death==
Askew died at a hospital in [[Tallahassee, Florida]], on March 13, 2014, aged 85, from complications of [[pneumonia]] and a [[stroke]].<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/us/politics/reubin-askew-former-florida-governor-dies-at-85.html|title = Reubin Askew, a Progressive Governor of Florida in the '70s, Dies at 85|work = [[The New York Times]]|last = McFadden|first = Robert D.|author-link = Robert D. McFadden|date = March 13, 2014|access-date = July 26, 2019}}</ref>

==Legacy and honors==
* Askew was named one of the "Top 50 Floridians of the 20th Century" for his "Tax reform, racial justice and honesty in government."<ref name="top50"/>
* The Student Life Center at Florida State University was renamed as the [[Reubin O'D. Askew Student Life Center]] in his honor.
* The Florida State University Alumni Association awards notable alumni with the Reubin O'D. Askew Young Alumni Award as part of the Thirty Under Thirty program.
* The library at his high school alma mater, Pensacola High School, was also named after him.<ref name="library">[http://www.pensacolahighschool.org/academics/media/mchome.htm Reubin O'D. Askew Media Center at Pensacola High School]</ref>
* [[Interstate 110 (Florida)|Interstate 110]] in Pensacola is named the Reubin O'Donovan Askew Parkway.
* The main terminal at [[Pensacola International Airport]] is named the Reubin O'Donovan Askew Terminal.
*He was designated a [[Great Floridians|Great Floridian]] by the [[Florida Department of State]] in 1998. The program recognizes the achievements of Floridians, living and deceased, who have made major contributions to the progress and welfare of the state.<ref>[http://www.flheritage.com/museum/programs/floridian/ Great Floridian Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603072600/http://www.flheritage.com/museum/programs/floridian/ |date=June 3, 2008 }}, Florida Department of State</ref>

==Electoral history==
'''2nd Florida Senate District election (Democratic primary), 1962'''<ref name=":1" />

* Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 17,903 (62.45%)
* [[Philip D. Beall Jr.|Philip D. Beall]] – 10,776 (37.55%)

'''2nd Florida Senate District election, 1962'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/Tabulationofofficialvotescastinthegeneralelection1962/page/n7/mode/2up |title=Tabulation of official votes cast in the general election (1962) |publisher=Florida Secretary of State |year=1962 |pages=9 (as numbered in the source document) |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

* Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 14,454 (99.99%)
* Scattering – 1 (0.01%)

'''2nd Florida Senate District election, 1968'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/Tabulationofofficialvotescastinthegeneralelection1968/page/n17/mode/2up |title=Tabulation of official votes cast in the general election (1968) |publisher=Florida Secretary of State |year=1968 |pages=12 (as numbered in the source document) |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

* Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 49,404 (74.77%)
* Lou Smith – 16,670 (25.23%)

'''Democratic primary for governor, 1970<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=14815|title=Our Campaigns – Candidate – Reubin Askew|website=ourcampaigns.com|access-date=December 1, 2020}}</ref>'''
* [[Earl Faircloth]] – 227,413 (29.96%)
* Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 206,333 (27.18%)
* [[John E. Mathews]] – 186,053 (24.51%)
* [[Chuck Hall (Florida politician)|Chuck Hall]] – 139,384 (18.36%)

'''Democratic primary for Governor runoff'''
* Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 447,025 (57.68%)
* [[Earl Faircloth]] – 328,038 (42.32%)

'''[[1970 Florida gubernatorial election]]'''
* Reubin O'Donovan Askew/[[Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.]] (D) – 984,305 (56.88%)
* [[Claude Roy Kirk, Jr.]]/[[Ray C. Osborne]] (R, {{abbr|Inc.|incumbent}}) – 746,243 (43.12%)

'''Democratic primary for governor, 1974'''
* Reubin O'Donovan Askew (Inc.) – 579,137 (68.83%)
* [[Ben Hill Griffin, Jr.]] – 137,008 (16.28%)
* [[Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.]] – 85,557 (10.17%)
* [[Norman Bie]] – 39,758 (4.73%)

'''[[1974 Florida gubernatorial election]]'''
* Reubin O'Donovan Askew (Inc.)/J. H. Williams (D) – 1,118,954 (61.20%)
* [[Jerry Thomas (Florida politician)|Jerry Thomas]]/[[Mike Thompson (Florida politician)|Mike Thompson]] – 709,438 (38.80%)

'''[[1984 United States presidential election]] (Democratic primaries)'''
* [[Walter Mondale]] – 6,952,912 (38.34%)
* [[Gary Hart]] – 6,504,842 (35.87%)
* [[Jesse Jackson]] – 3,282,431 (18.10%)
* [[John Glenn]] – 617,909 (3.41%)
* [[George McGovern]] – 334,801 (1.85%)
* [[Unpledged]] – 146,212 (0.81%)
* [[Lyndon LaRouche]] – 123,649 (0.68%)
* Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 52,759 (0.29%)
* [[Alan Cranston]] – 51,437 (0.28%)
* [[Ernest Hollings]] – 33,684 (0.19%)
* [[Ronald Reagan]] (write-in) – 10,096 (0.06%)

==See also==
{{Portal|Florida|Biography|Politics}}
* [[List of University of Florida honorary degree recipients]]
{{Clear}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* David Colburn and Richard Scher, ''Florida's Gubernatorial Politics in the 20th Century'', University Presses of Florida, 1980
* Gordon E. Harvey, ''The Politics of Trust: Reubin Askew and Florida in the 1970s'', University of Alabama Press, 2015

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/facts/history/governors/governor.cfm?id=44 Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109022520/http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/facts/history/governors/governor.cfm?id=44 |date=November 9, 2011 }}
* [http://www.fldemolay.net/historical-records/hall-of-fame/ Florida DeMolay hall of Fame website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060812085418/http://universe.demolay.org/halloffame/ DeMolay hall of Fame website]
* [http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/A-0045/menu.html Oral History Interview with Reubin Askew] from [http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/ Oral Histories of the American South]
* [http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0267/SEC0731.HTM&Title=-%3E2001-%3ECh0267-%3ESection%200731 Florida Legislature website: The 2007 Florida Statutes-Title XVIII]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081223111121/http://askew.clas.ufl.edu/  Reubin O'D. Askew Institute on Politics and Society]
* [http://askew.fsu.edu/ Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University]
* {{Find a Grave|126289218}}
*{{C-SPAN|60512}}
*{{YouTube|id=ictUk4fEczI|title=The governorship of Reubin Askew}}
*{{YouTube|id=bFEgq-B-hG0|title=Reubin Askew [Democratic] 1970 Campaign Ad “Senior citizens”}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Office of the United States Trade Representative|United States Trade Representative]]|years=1979–1980}}
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{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Florida}}
{{USTR}}
{{Carter cabinet}}
{{National Governors Association chairs}}
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{{United States presidential election, 1984}}
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[[Category:1928 births]]
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