1961 United States Senate special election in Texas
The 1961 United States Senate special election in Texas was held on May 27, 1961. The election was held to replace outgoing Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who had been elected Vice President of the United States.
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 County results Tower: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Blakley: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Texas |
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 Government |
Republican John Tower, who had been the nominee for the regularly scheduled election in 1960, defeated seventy other candidates to become the first Republican to represent Texas in the Senate since Reconstruction. Tower was also the first post-Reconstruction Republican to win a statewide election in Texas, the first to win any popular election in a former Confederate state, and the third to win any election to the Senate from the former Confederacy.
Primary election
Candidates
Seventy-one candidates were on the ballot for the primary election. At the time, the filing fee for ballot access was only $50.
The primary was held on April 4.
Major candidates
- William A. Blakley (Democrat), incumbent appointee Senator
- Henry B. Gonzalez (Democrat), State Senator from San Antonio
- Maury Maverick Jr. (Democrat), attorney and former State Representative
- John Tower (Republican), political science professor at Midwestern State University and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1960
- Will Wilson (Democrat), Attorney General of Texas
- Jim Wright (Democrat), U.S. Representative from Fort Worth
Minor candidates
None of these candidates received more than 0.5% of the popular vote.
- G. H. Allen
- Jim W. Amos
- Dale Baker
- Mali Barraco
- Tom E. Barton
- R. G. Becker
- Jacob Bergolofsky
- Ted Bisland
- G. E. Blewett
- Joyce Bradshaw
- Chester D. Brooks
- William L. Burlison
- Ronald J. Byers
- Joseph M. Carter
- George A. Davisson
- Winnie K. Derrick
- Harry R. Diehl
- Harvill O. Eaton
- Jonnie Mae Eckman
- Paul F. Eix
- Ben H. Faber
- H. E. Fanning
- Charles O. Foerster Jr.
- Harold Franklin
- George N. Gallagher Jr.
- Richard J. Gay
- Van T. George Jr.
- Arthur Glover
- Delbert E. Granstaff
- Curtis E. Hill
- Willard Park Holland
- John N. Hopkins
- Mary Hazel Houston
- Ben M. Johnson
- Guy Johnson
- Morgan H. Johnson
- C. B. Kennedy
- H. Springer Knoblauch
- Lloyd Layne
- Hugh O. Lea
- V. C. Logan
- Frank A. Matera
- Brown McCallum
- James E. McKeen
- Steve Nemecek
- George E. Noyes
- Cecil D. Perkins
- William H. Posey
- George Red
- Wesley Roberts
- D. T. Sampson
- Eristus Sams
- A. Dale Savage
- Carl Schrade
- Albert Roy Smith
- Homer H. Stalarow
- Frank Stanford
- John B. Sypert
- Martha Tredway
- S. S. Vela
- Bill Whitten
- Hugh Wilson
- Hoyt G. Wilson
- Marcos Zertuche
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Tower | 327,308 | 30.93% | |
| Democratic | William Blakely (incumbent) | 190,818 | 18.03% | |
| Democratic | Jim Wright | 171,328 | 16.19% | |
| Democratic | Will Wilson | 121,961 | 11.53% | |
| Democratic | Maury Maverick Jr. | 104,992 | 9.92% | |
| Democratic | Henry B. Gonzalez | 97,659 | 9.23% | |
| Various | Minor candidates | 44,058 | 4.16% | |
| Total votes | 1,058,124 | 100.00% | ||
Runoff election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Tower | 448,217 | 50.58% |  9.46 | |
| Democratic | William A. Blakley (incumbent) | 437,874 | 49.42% |  8.56 | |
| Total votes | 886,091 | 100.00% | |||
References
- "TX US Senate - Special Primary". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- "TX US Senate - Special". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved April 4, 2020.