This race was the second-closest gubernatorial election in Florida history since Reconstruction, due to the strong Republican wave of 1994.

[1] The following year, Chiles's approval rating fell to only 22% and his disapproval reached 76% after the state's perceived inadequate response to Hurricane Andrew.

[8] Another debate between Bush and Chiles was conducted by the League of Women Voters of Florida at Tampa Performing Arts Center on November 1.

Later, during a discussion about school vouchers, Chiles quipped "My mama told me, 'sticks and stones will break my bones,' but names will never hurt me.

These calls alleged that Bush was a "tax cheat" and that his running mate Tom Feeney planned to destroy Social Security.

With the election occurring during the 1994 Republican Revolution, Chiles was one of only two Democratic governors nationwide in close competitive races to hold onto his seat that night (the other being Zell Miller).

Senator Connie Mack III was re-elected in a landslide, Sandra Mortham defeated Ron Saunders for Secretary of State, Gerald A. Lewis was ousted by Robert Milligan for Comptroller, and Frank Brogan, who would run as Bush's running mate in 1998, was re-elected as Commissioner of Education.

Also following in the conservative tone of the night, a statewide ballot initiative to legalize casino gambling was defeated in a 62%-38% landslide.

In comparison with the 1990 election, Chiles performed significantly worse in North and Central Florida, where he lost his native Polk County.

Bill Cotterell of the Tallahassee Democrat believed that the phone calls did not affect the result of the election: "I'm quite sure you know, at least half of them just hung up, never even listened to the message.

Miami Herald writer Mark Silva also argued that phonegate did not impact the outcome of the election, saying that "[the] campaign was won before that happened.

After apologizing to any Floridians who may have been misled, the attempt to tie him to phonegate was reduced to a one-man operation led by then-State Senator Charlie Crist.

Chiles remained governor of Florida until suffering a fatal heart attack on December 12, 1998, less than a month before his second term expired.