Increasing Republican Strength: 1960 To 1990
The rebirth of the Republican Party in Texas can be traced back to 1952, when Democratic Governor Allan Shivers clashed with the Truman Administration over the claim on the Tidelands, which subsequently led to his work in helping Dwight D. Eisenhower carry the state. Beginning in the 1960s, Republican strength increased in Texas, particularly in the growing suburbs around Dallas and Houston. The election of Republicans like George H. W. Bush and John Tower to Congress during the 1960s reflected this trend. Nationally, Democrats became increasingly liberal and Republicans became increasingly conservative. During the late 20th century, conservative Southern Democrats began to leave the party and join the Republicans. Unlike the rest of the South, however, Texas was never especially supportive of the various third-party candidacies of Southern Democrats, and was the only state in the former Confederacy to back Democrat Hubert Humphrey in 1968. The 1980s saw a number of defections by conservative Democrats to the GOP, including Senator Phil Gramm, Congressman Kent Hance, and current GOP Governor Rick Perry, who was a Democrat during his time as a state lawmaker.
John Tower's 1961 election to the U.S. Senate made him the first statewide GOP officeholder since Reconstruction. Governor Bill Clements and Senator Phil Gramm (also a former Democrat) followed. Republicans became increasingly dominant in national elections in Texas. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Previously, a Democrat had to win Texas to win the White House, but in the 1992 election, Bill Clinton won the Oval Office while losing Texas electoral votes. This significantly delined the power of Texas Democrats at the national level as party leaders believed the state had become unwinnable.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Texas
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