[5][6] During the war he had the rank of ensign and served under the Censorship Board being stationed in Key West and Havana, Cuba.

[7] His experiences meeting Floridians from a variety of different backgrounds as the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce convinced him that he could be elected as governor.

[5] When Sholtz ran for Governor, his platform included increasing government services, free school textbooks, 9-month school terms, back pay for teachers, workers compensation, increasing banking regulations, and more funding for the public welfare.

[5] His primary election opponent John W. Martin played up the fact that Sholtz was of Jewish ancestry[5] in an anti-Semitic attack on him.

[10] During the general election in November he ran against Republican candidate William J. Howey, the mayor of Howey-in-the-Hills.

During his tenure as governor, he established the Florida Park Service and Florida Citrus Commission, passed a workers' compensation law, mandated free textbooks in public schools, and funded salaries for public school teachers.

[13] During Sholtz's tenure as governor, the lynching of Claude Neal occurred and there was national attention surrounding the incident.

Walter Francis White, the NAACP Secretary sent a telegram to Schultz on October 26, 1934, telling him that the mob who had abducted him was planning on burning him at a stake and that he rescue him and put him in a safe location.

The mayor of Marianna called Sholtz asking for assistance which he granted sending in the Florida National Guard to restore order and the mob dispersed.

Sholtz proposed that income received from car license taxes and a one mill school tax from construction along with the state's share of pari-mutuel betting could be used as a way to pay for the school fund allowing for teachers to be paid in regular money instead of scrip.

[5] Sholtz managed to overcome the strong opposition publishers had to providing free public school textbooks.

Towards the end of his administration, accusations of bribery along with in corruption in the gaming and racing commissions circulated, which hampered his reputation with Floridians.

[16] After leaving the Governor's Mansion on January 5, 1937, Sholtz unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1938, losing the Democratic primary to Claude Pepper.