Political Campaigns
In 1978, Pauken challenged the freshman Democratic Representative Jim Mattox of Dallas for Texas' 5th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives, a position held by earlier Republicans Bruce Reynolds Alger and Alan Steelman. Mattox was assisted in his campaign by visits from President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Smith Carter. Pauken offered a conservative alternative in sharp contrast to Mattox. The Democrat prevailed, with 35,524 votes (50.3 percent) to Pauken's 34,672 (49.1 percent). In their rematch in 1980, Pauken lost by 3,044 votes: 70,892 (51.0 percent) to 67,848 (48.8 percent). While Ronald Reagan was a winner in the Fifth District, he had no presidential coattails sufficient to lift Pauken to victory. Indeed, Pauken ran .3 of 1 percent below his initial 1978 showing.
After the congressional losses, Pauken joined the transition team of President-elect Reagan. After his tenure at ACTION and his return to Texas, Reagan called upon Pauken again on April 22, 1987, to become a director of the Inter-American Foundation.
In 2010, Pauken endorsed Perry for renomination in his successful race against Senator Hutchison and for reelection in the fall campaign against the Democrat Bill White, a former mayor of Houston, Texas. However, Pauken remained neutral in Perry's unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
Read more about this topic: Thomas Pauken
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or campaigns:
“Motherhood is the second oldest profession in the world. It never questions age, height, religious preference, health, political affiliation, citizenship, morality, ethnic background, marital status, economic level, convenience, or previous experience.”
—Erma Bombeck (20th century)
“That food has always been, and will continue to be, the basis for one of our greater snobbisms does not explain the fact that the attitude toward the food choice of others is becoming more and more heatedly exclusive until it may well turn into one of those forms of bigotry against which gallant little committees are constantly planning campaigns in the cause of justice and decency.”
—Cornelia Otis Skinner (1901–1979)