1970 Texas Senate election

1970 Texas Senate election

← 1968 November 3, 1970 1972  →
16 out of 31 seats in the Texas Senate 16 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 29 2 Seats after 29 2 Seat change Popular vote 690,897 130,451 Percentage 84.08% 15.87%
President pro tempore before election Criss Cole Democratic Elected President pro tempore Jack Hightower Democratic

The 1970 Texas Senate election was held on November 3, 1970, to determine which party would control the Texas Senate for the following two years in the 62nd Texas Legislature. Sixteen out of the 31 seats in the Texas Senate were up for election and the primary was held on May 2, 1970, with run-offs held on June 6. Prior to the election, 29 seats were held by Democrats and 2 seats were held by Republicans. The general election saw Democrats maintain their majority in the State Senate. ^{[1] [2]}

Retirements

Democrats

1. District 2: Jack Strong retired.
2. District 6: Criss Cole retired.
3. District 19: Red Berry retired.
4. District 31: Grady Hazlewood retired.

Results

District 2

District 2 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lindley Beckworth	41,727	62.51%
	Republican	Jack Warren	24,633	36.90%
		Scattering	393	0.59%
Total votes			66,753	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 4

District 4 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	D. Roy Harrington (incumbent)	44,346	100.0%
Total votes			44,346	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 6

District 6 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James P. Wallace	42,526	67.79%
	Republican	Abe Farrior	20,204	32.21%
Total votes			62,730	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 7

District 7 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chet Brooks (incumbent)	31,202	100.0%
Total votes			31,202	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 10

District 10 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Don Kennard (incumbent)	–	100.0%
Total votes			–	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 12

District 12 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. P. Word (incumbent)	60,891	100.0%
Total votes			60,891	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 13

District 13 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Murray Watson Jr. (incumbent)	46,968	100.0%
Total votes			46,968	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 19

District 19 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Glenn Kothmann	34,119	56.08%
	Republican	James R. Nowlin	26,721	43.92%
Total votes			60,840	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 21

District 21 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wayne Connally (incumbent)	48,781	100.0%
Total votes			48,781	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 22

District 22 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Creighton (incumbent)	63,135	100.0%
Total votes			63,135	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 23

District 23 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Oscar Mauzy (incumbent)	40,937	61.84%
	Republican	Ray Zauber	25,256	38.16%
Total votes			66,193	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 24

District 24 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Ratliff (incumbent)	47,174	100.0%
Total votes			47,174	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 26

District 26 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe J. Bernal (incumbent)	46,784	100.0%
Total votes			46,784	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 28

District 28 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	H. J. Blanchard (incumbent)	50,315	100.0%
Total votes			50,315	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 30

District 30 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Hightower (incumbent)	54,399	100.0%
Total votes			54,399	100.0%
	Democratic hold

District 31

District 31 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Sherman	37,593	52.77%
	Republican	Malouf Abraham	33,637	47.22%
		Scattering	5	0.01%
Total votes			71,235	100.0%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "General election, 1970". texashistory.unt.edu. 1973. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
2. "Texas Almanac, 1970-1971 Page: 642". texashistory.unt.edu. 1971. Retrieved December 4, 2025.