Governor
In 1966, Kirk ran for governor and defeated the Democratic candidate, Robert King High, the mayor of Miami. High had unseated incumbent governor Haydon Burns, a Conservative Democrat, in the Democratic primary. In the general election, Kirk won a majority of the vote in 56 of the state's 67 counties.
One of the major themes of Kirk's campaign was his strong support for capital punishment, in contrast to Collins', Bryant's and Burns' opposition to capital punishment. Kirk promised to resume executions (the last had taken place in Florida in 1964), but no executions occurred during his administration, mostly because of an informal nationwide moratorium. Kirk made headlines when, during the campaign, he visited Florida State Prison and, after shaking hands with several death row inmates, said, "If I'm elected, I may have to sign your death warrants."
Burns's refusal to support High was a major factor in Kirk's decisive victory in the general election. Upon taking the oath of office on January 3, 1967, he became the state's first Republican governor in 90 years. During his four-year term in office, Kirk help shepherd a new Florida Constitution bringing Florida into the modern era in 1968. Although he had a Democratic-controlled legislature and Cabinet, Democrats did not have a veto-proof majority during Kirk's term of office. The governor was often at odds with both Democrats and his Republican colleagues in the legislature on issues such as growth and taxes. He earned the nickname Claudius Maximus because of his brash, acerbic style of leadership and opinionated, colorful personality. In May 1967, in response to lobbying from the Walt Disney Company, Kirk signed into law legislation which created the Reedy Creek Improvement District and granted the Walt Disney Company self-governing status near the area where Walt Disney World was being constructed. During 1967, a riot would occur in Tampa starting on June 11. Kirk himself would be involved with it and visited the city on numerous occasions.
During 1968, there would be a statewide teachers strike in Florida. The Florida Education Association (FEA), a union for teachers in the state wanted to increase salaries along with school budgets during the 1967 legislature session. Kirk would call a special session for the legislature during January 1968 to try an address a crisis that was forming. The Senate would draft a bill that was at the level of the FEA's desires but the House would reduce its size and a joint committee ended up passing the bill which the FEA thought was unacceptable. 35,000 teachers and school administrators would go on strike starting on February 19. Most schools would stay open and Florida's Commissioner of Education, Floyd T. Christian would use substitute teachers as replacements. The FEA and State Board of Education would end up reaching an agreement and decided that $10.2 million would be decided for educational spending. FEA would end the strike the following day and teachers went back to work. The strike would be the first statewide teacher strike in the United States.
The Apollo 8 mission, which would take the first humans to lunar orbit, and the Apollo 11 mission, which would land the first humans on the Moon, would happen during his tenure. The rocket that carried the Apollo 11 astronauts would be launched at Cape Canaveral on July 17, 1969. Prior to launching, Kirk would issue a news release urging observers of the launch to drive safely around the launch area. During the 1960s and 70s, a drink named Tang would become popular due to its association with the US space program. Orange growers in Florida would be spooked by the success of Tang, which led to the Florida Citrus Commission filing several complaints with the Federal Trade Commission. This would lead to Kirk getting angry and in 1971 he would tell state agencies to cease purchasing from Tang's owner, General Foods. He was reported to say once in regards to it: "Why doesn’t Tang attack milk?"
During Kirk's term, the Dade County Port Authority began secretly buying land in the Everglades to build an airport. Governor Kirk turned a ceremonial shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking. Kirk was a strong supporter of what would have been the world's largest airport despite evidence that it would destroy the water-recharge area South Florida needed. His transportation secretary, Michael O'Neil, stated, "I call the Everglades a swamp. My children can't play in it." The work was ultimately halted on September 17, 1969, after an Interior Department study ordered by Nixon.
Kirk's management style was described as flamboyant and confrontational. He especially opposed court-ordered mandatory busing. In 1970, as he geared for a reelection bid, he tried to halt a desegregation busing plan in the Manatee County School District. He would arrive in Bradenton (the county seat) on April 6 and suspended the district superintendent, Dr. Jack Davidson along with the school board in an attempt to stop halt it. He would threaten a federal judge and stated that he would not sign busing students checks. US District Judge, Ben Krentzman would order that Kirk appear in court under the charge of contempt of court charge which he refused. The superintendent and school board members would be reinstated on April 8. Claude would end up staying inside the school board administration building for a week until being threatened by a $10,000 per day fine before leaving the building to return to Tallahassee. He quipped that the pro-busing judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, were "drinking in the French Quarter and reading dirty books".
After the publication of John Filo's photograph showing Mary Ann Vecchio of Florida kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller at the Kent State University shootings on May 4, 1970, Governor Kirk publicly labeled Vecchio a dissident "Communist".
