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 County results Gramm: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Contents
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| Elections in Texas |
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The 1984 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Tower decided to retire, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican Phil Gramm won the open seat.
The primary was 45% Hispanic, but included many moderate to conservative voters. Hance positioned himself as the most moderate to conservative candidate, who co-sponsored President Ronald Reagan's tax package. [1] Doggett was the more liberal candidate, attacking Reaganomics and getting endorsements from the Texas teachers' union and Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower. [2] Doggett's campaign manager was James Carville. [3] Krueger was seen as the front runner and was a moderate who supported the state's oil and gas industry, but had close ties with the Hispanic community because he was Spanish-speaking. [4] Hance attacked both Krueger and Doggett for supporting amnesty for illegal aliens and supporting gay rights. [5] The initial primary was extremely close between the top three candidates. Each candidate got 31% of the electorate. Hance ranked first, only 273 votes ahead of Doggett and 1,560 votes ahead of Krueger.
Since no candidate passed the 50% threshold, Hance and Doggett qualified for the run-off election. Hance fired his pollster despite ranking first. [6] Krueger endorsed fellow U.S. Congressman Hance, saying "Ultimately, the quality of one's public service depends upon the character that one displays in filling an office." [7] [8] In the June election, Doggett very narrowly defeated Hance by just 1,345 votes.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kent Hance | 456,446 | 31.2% | |
| Democratic | Lloyd Doggett | 456,173 | 31.2% | |
| Democratic | Robert Charles Krueger | 454,886 | 31.1% | |
| Democratic | David Young | 47,062 | 3.2% | |
| Democratic | Robert S. Sullivan | 34,733 | 2.4% | |
| Democratic | Harley Schlanger | 14,149 | 1.0% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lloyd Doggett | 491,251 | 50.1% | |
| Democratic | Kent Hance | 489,906 | 49.9% | |
The primary was a multimillion-dollar contest. [11] Gramm recently switched parties in 1983, but he was a conservative who supported Reaganomics. Gramm spent $4 million. [12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phil Gramm | 247,280 | 73.3% | |
| Republican | Ron Paul | 55,771 | 16.5% | |
| Republican | Robert A. Mosbacher Jr. | 26,250 | 7.8% | |
| Republican | Hank Grover | 8,055 | 2.5% | |
Doggett received 89% of the black vote. [14]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phil Gramm | 3,111,348 | 58.55% | ||
| Democratic | Lloyd Doggett | 2,202,557 | 41.45% | ||
| Total votes | 5,313,905 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Kent Ronald Hance is an American politician and lawyer who is the former Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. In his role, he oversaw Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. He is also a lobbyist and lawyer. Hance is the only person to defeat future President George W. Bush and became a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from West Texas, having served from 1979 to 1985. After his congressional service, he switched to the Republican Party and in both 1986 and 1990 ran for governor of Texas, losing in the primary election.
Robert Charles Krueger was an American diplomat, politician, and U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Texas, a U.S. Ambassador, and a member of the Democratic Party. As of 2023, he was the last Democrat to serve as a United States Senator from Texas.
The 1990 United States Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republican Party. The election cycle took place in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term, and, as with most other midterm elections, the party not holding the presidency gained seats in Congress.
The 1988 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 8, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. In spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of one seat in the Senate. Seven seats changed parties, with four incumbents being defeated. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased by one to 55–to–45.
The 1986 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 4, in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents, picking up two Republican-held open seats, and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. This remains the most recent midterm election cycle in which the sitting president's party suffered net losses while still flipping a Senate seat.
The 1984 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of President Ronald Reagan in the presidential election. In spite of the lopsided presidential race, Reagan's Republican Party suffered a net loss of two Senate seats to the Democrats, although it retained control of the Senate with a reduced 53-47 majority. Democrats defeated incumbents in Illinois and Iowa, and won an open seat in Tennessee, while Republicans defeated an incumbent in Kentucky.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican John Cornyn defeated Democratic nominee Rick Noriega, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, to win re-election to a second term in office.
The 1986 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 8, 1986. Incumbent Republican Bob Packwood ran for re-election. U.S. Congressman Jim Weaver received the Democratic nomination. A populist Democratic congressman from Eugene, Oregon, he was a darling of the environmentalists. Weaver supported the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984. Packwood was confident, despite the popular opponent, because had more money and a better campaign organization. After winning the party nomination, Weaver was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into his campaign finances, and withdrew his candidacy. Rick Bauman was selected to replace Weaver on the ballot, and lost handily to Packwood.
The 1996 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Phil Gramm won re-election to a third term.
The 1934 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4, 1934. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Connally was re-elected to a second term. Connally fended off a competitive primary challenge from U.S. Representative Joseph Weldon Bailey Jr. on July 28 before facing only nominal opposition in the general election.
The 1984 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 6, 1984, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Texas had twenty-seven seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1980 United States census.
The 1982 United States Senate election in Texas took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen won re-election to a third term in office, defeating Republican U.S. Representative James M. Collins.
The 1970 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ralph Yarborough was defeated by former U.S. Representative Lloyd Bentsen in the Democratic primary. Bentsen then defeated Republican U.S. Representative and future president George H. W. Bush in the general election. When Bush was running for president in 1988, his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, selected Bentsen as his vice presidential running mate.
The 1942 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 3, 1942. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel was re-elected to a second term.
The 1916 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 7, 1916. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Culberson was re-elected to a fourth term in office. Culberson survived a challenge from former Governor Oscar Colquitt in the Democratic primary, then easily won the general election.
The 1922 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 7, 1922. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Culberson ran for re-election to a fifth term, but lost the Democratic primary. A runoff was held between former Governor Pa Ferguson and Railroads Commissioner Earle Bradford Mayfield.
The 1946 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 5, 1946. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Connally was re-elected to his fourth term in office, with only minor opposition in the Democratic primary and general elections.
Democrat William Proxmire won a special election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-WI). Also, Price Daniel (D-TX) left the Senate to become governor of Texas, and Democrat Ralph Yarborough won a special election for that Senate seat. The Democrats thus made a net gain of one seat. However, Congress was out of session at the time of the Democratic gain in Wisconsin, and the Republicans gained a Democratic-held seat only weeks after the next session started, when Republican John D. Hoblitzell Jr. was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of Senator Matthew M. Neely (D-WV).
The 1985 United States House of Representatives special election in Texas's 1st congressional district was held on June 29, 1985 to select the successor to Sam B. Hall (D) who was appointed as a U.S. District Judge by President Ronald Reagan. Since no candidate received an outright majority during the first round, a special runoff was held on August 3, 1985. Republicans saw this special election as a prime opportunity to demonstrate the political realignment of East Texas, as the district had supported Republicans Ronald Reagan and Phil Gramm in 1984. Gramm had arranged Hall's appointment to the judiciary in an attempt to see a Republican elected from the area.
