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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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 Government |
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.
Initial election on May 5, 1984
| 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% | |
Run-off election on June 2, 1984
| 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 | |||||
William Philip Gramm is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1996 Republican Party presidential primaries against eventual nominee Bob Dole.
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 2024, he is the last Democrat to serve as a United States Senator from Texas.
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