1972 Texas gubernatorial election

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1972 Texas gubernatorial election
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←  1970 November 7, 1972 1974  →
  Dolph Briscoe, 1976 (3x4 crop).jpg Sen. Henry C. Grover (3x4 crop).png Ramsey Muniz 1972 Edit.jpg
Nominee Dolph Briscoe Henry Grover Ramsey Muñiz
Party Democratic Republican Raza Unida
Popular vote1,633,4931,533,986214,118
Percentage47.9%45.0%6.3%
1972 Texas gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Briscoe:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Grover:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Muñiz:     40–50%     50–60%
Governor before election

Preston Smith
Democratic

Elected Governor

Dolph Briscoe
Democratic

The 1972 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Democratic governor Preston Smith ran for reelection, but lost renomination to businessman Dolph Briscoe. Smith was overwhelmingly rejected in the Democratic primary, taking fourth place with only 8% of the vote amid the fallout from the Sharpstown scandal. Briscoe went on to win the general election by a relatively small margin, winning 48% of the vote to Republican Henry Grover's 45%. Raza Unida candidate Ramsey Muniz won 6%.

Contents

As of 2022, this is the last time Jim Hogg and Brooks counties did not vote for the Democratic candidate, instead voting for the Raza Unida party.

The 1972 election marked the last time that a gubernatorial election was held concurrently with a presidential election and the last time that a governor was elected for a two-year term.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dolph Briscoe 963,397 43.93%
Democratic Frances Farenthold 612,05127.91%
Democratic Ben Barnes 392,35617.89%
Democratic Preston Smith (incumbent)190,7098.70%
Democratic William H. Posey13,7270.62%
Democratic Gordon F. Wills10,4380.48%
Democratic Robert E. Looney10,2250.47%
Total votes2,192,903 100.00%

Runoff

Democratic runoff results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dolph Briscoe 1,095,168 55.32%
Democratic Frances Farenthold 884,59444.68%
Total votes1,979,762 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Henry Grover 37,118 32.56%
Republican Albert B. Fay 24,32921.34%
Republican David Reagan20,11917.65%
Republican Tom McElroy19,55917.16%
Republican John A. Hall Sr.8,0187.03%
Republican J. A. Jenkins4,8644.27%
Total votes114,007 100.00%

Runoff

Republican runoff results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Henry Grover 37,842 66.38%
Republican Albert B. Fay 19,16633.62%
Total votes57,008 100.00%

Results

Results for Raza Unida by county: Muniz 0-5% 5-10% 10-15% 15-20% 20-25% 25-30% >30% Texas Gubernatorial Election Results by County, 1972 Raza Unida.svg
Results for Raza Unida by county:
Muñiz
  •      0–5%
  •      5–10%
  •      10–15%
  •      15–20%
  •      20–25%
  •      25–30%
  •      >30%
General election results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dolph Briscoe 1,633,493 47.91%
Republican Henry Grover 1,533,98644.99%
Raza Unida Ramsey Muniz 214,1186.28%
Socialist Workers Deborah Leonard24,1030.71%
Others3,8910.11%
Total votes3,409,501 100.00%
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Texas Almanac, 2000-2001. Dallas: Dallas Morning News. 1999. p. 434. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
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