Bush’s Son, First Lady’s Brother Win in Florida : Primary: Ex-President’s scion must face runoff for GOP gubernatorial nomination. Hugh Rodham takes Democratic Senate race.

MIAMI —  Two men with presidential family ties claimed Florida primary victories Thursday in statewide contests.

Returns showed Miami developer Jeb Bush, 41, the son of ex-President George Bush, handily winning the Republican gubernatorial primary, but not by the majority needed to keep him out of a runoff. With 96% of precincts reporting, Bush had 45% of the vote followed by Florida Secretary of State Jim Smith with 19%.

By topping state Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher, who won 13% of the vote, Smith qualified to face Bush in the runoff Oct. 4.

The winner of the Republican runoff will face incumbent Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles on Nov. 8. The 64-year-old Chiles, buoyed in the polls by his hardline handling of the Cuban refugee crisis, easily defeated Jack Gargan of Tampa, the organizer of an anti-incumbent group, for the Democratic nomination.

Chiles, undefeated in six previous statewide elections, took 72% of the vote to 28% for Gargan.

“We are looking forward to this campaign more than any other campaign we’ve ever had,” Chiles said. “We’re going to have that clear choice for Floridians.”

In the Democratic Senate primary, former Dade County public defender Hugh Rodham--the younger brother of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton--appeared to be the winner with 34% of the vote. He, too, will face a runoff, probably against talk show host Mike Wiley, who had 24% of the votes with 96% of the ballots counted.

Finishing third was Miami lawyer Ellis Rubin, who recorded 21%, just ahead of the fourth candidate in the race, Cuban-born physician Arturo Perez.

Rodham, 43, who was widely ridiculed when it was revealed that he had not even registered to vote until his brother-in-law ran for President, is considered a sure loser should he end up facing incumbent Republican Sen. Connie Mack in November. Mack was unopposed in the GOP primary.

Bush, who is considered more conservative than his father, walked a thin line in campaign ads to court supporters among South Florida Latinos and the religious right statewide while trying not to alienate the majority of Florida’s Republican voters who support abortion rights and favor slamming the door on illegal immigration.

Some analysts suggested that Bush’s lead over his opponents had narrowed in the closing days of the campaign due to Smith television spots that derided Bush for saying welfare mothers should “get their life together and find a husband.”

But his margin of victory was even greater than many expected. “He can claim a significant victory,” said political analyst Richard Scher of the University of Florida. “He’s been able to reshape what the Florida Republican is like--much more conservative, much more ideological, more pointed and hard-hitting.”

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Smith, 54, who as a Democrat served eight years as Florida attorney general, attacked Bush for his lack of experience in public office and the business dealings that have made him a millionaire.

Bush, who speaks Spanish and whose wife is a native of Mexico, is a favorite of South Florida’s Cuban Americans. But Smith, with two decades of state government experience and a female running mate, pulls strong support from women and more liberal Republicans.