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Wayne Mixson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 39th Governor of Florida | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 6, 1987 | |
| Lieutenant | Vacant |
| Preceded by | Bob Graham |
| Succeeded by | Bob Martinez |
| 12th Lieutenant Governor of Florida | |
| In office January 2, 1979 – January 3, 1987 | |
| Governor | Bob Graham |
| Preceded by | Jim Williams |
| Succeeded by | Bobby Brantley |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 7th district | |
| In office November 7, 1972 – November 7, 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Jerry G. Melvin |
| Succeeded by | Sam Mitchell |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 11th district | |
| In office March 28, 1967 – November 7, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Donald L. Tucker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Wayne Mixson June 16, 1922 New Brockton, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 8, 2020 (aged 98) Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (before 2012) Republican (2012–2020) |
| Spouse | |
| Education | University of Florida (BBA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
John Wayne Mixson (June 16, 1922 – July 8, 2020) was an American politician and farmer in Florida who served as the 12th lieutenant governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987, and as the 39th governor of Florida for three days in January 1987. Mixson served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1967 to 1978 prior to being elected as lieutenant governor. He was a lifelong conservative Democrat, and though he served in the Florida legislature and as Florida's lieutenant governor as a member of that party, he supported a mix of Democratic and Republican candidates for various state and national offices after retiring from elected office.
Mixson was born and raised in New Brockton, Alabama. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, then attended college at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Florida and finishing his degree at the University of Florida in 1947. He became an active member of the American Farm Bureau Federation and served in multiple positions in the organization from the county to statewide level both before and after his terms in elected office.
Mixson entered politics in 1966, with an unsuccessful run in the Democratic primary election for a seat in the Florida Senate. In 1967, he won election to the Florida House of Representatives from Jackson County in the Florida panhandle and served a total of six terms as a state legislator. In 1978, Bob Graham, a state senator from South Florida, tapped Mixson to be his running mate to balance the ticket in his campaign for governor. They won, and Mixson was sworn in as Florida's 12th lieutenant governor in January 1979. The ticket of Graham and Mixson were reelected in 1982. but Graham was prohibited from running for a third term in 1986 due to Florida's term limit law. Instead, Graham ran for and won election to the United States Senate.
Mixson considered running for governor to replace Graham in 1986, but ultimately decided to retire from electoral politics and Republican Bob Martinez won the office. Graham's term in the U.S. Senate began three days before his term as governor ended, so he resigned effective January 3, 1987 to assume his new duties in Washington. As stipulated in state law, lieutenant governor Wayne Mixson briefly assumed the office of governor, and he held the office for about 72 hours before Martinez was inaugurated on January 6, 1987.