Martinez appointed Mixson to serve as the director of PRIDE, which ran prison industries in Florida. In 1988, Mixson supported Bill Gunter for the Democratic nomination for the Senate election and supported John W. Vogt for the Democratic nomination for insurance commissioner. During the 1994 Senate election he supported incumbent Republican Senator Connie Mack III. In 1996, Mixson was inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame. Mixson was given an honorary doctorate from the Florida Institute of Technology. During the 1994 Florida gubernatorial election Mixson supported incumbent Democratic Governor Lawton Chiles against Republican nominee Jeb Bush. However, during the 1998 Florida gubernatorial election he supported Bush against Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay although Mixson still supported Graham for reelection to the Senate against Republican nominee Charlie Crist. During the 2000 presidential election Mixson supported Texas Governor George W. Bush's presidential campaign. During the 2000 Senate election he supported Republican nominee Bill McCollum against Democratic nominee Bill Nelson. During the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries Mixson supported and donated to Graham's presidential campaign. However, after Graham dropped out of the presidential primary Mixson supported President Bush for reelection in the 2004 presidential election. Mixson was viewed widely as a conservative Democrat. In 2012, he changed his voter registration status to identify as a Republican. In 2014, the Florida State Senate designated Highway 73 out of Marianna Florida to be the Governor Wayne Mixson Highway. Both Governor and Mrs. Mixson were present for the dedication ceremony in September 2014. In 2015, Mixson wrote the foreword for the first complete book of the Florida Governorship, Florida Governors: Lasting Legacies. Mixson died on July 8, 2020, in Tallahassee, Florida, at the age of 98. Political positions Abortion Mixson was in favor of allowing abortions in the cases of rape, incest, deformity, and if the health of the mother was threatened. In 1970, he voted against legislation that would have left the decision of an abortion to the woman and her doctor. Agriculture In 1967, Mixson and state Senator Elmer O. Friday introduced a resolution calling for the United States Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson to maintain protective tariffs on agricultural imports. The resolution was later approved by the state House of Representatives. In 1969, he introduced legislation that would give sheriffs the ability to declare a state of emergency if overt acts of violence or imminent threat of violence occurs within a county and