1972 Texas gubernatorial election

none June 2022 January 2025 September 2023 1972 Texas gubernatorial election Texas presidential no 1970 Texas gubernatorial election 1970 1974 Texas gubernatorial election 1974 November 7, 1972 Dolph Briscoe, 1976 (3x4 crop).jpg Dolph Briscoe Democratic Party (United States) 1,633,493 47.9% Sen. Henry C. Grover (3x4 crop).png Henry Grover Republican Party (United States) 1,533,986 45.0% Ramsey Muñiz 1972 Edit.jpg Ramsey Muñiz Raza Unida Party 214,118 6.3% 1972 Texas gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 310px County resultsBriscoe: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%Grover: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70%Muñiz: #ffb061 40–50% #ff8649 50–60% Governor Preston Smith Democratic Party (United States) Dolph Briscoe Democratic Party (United States) 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%. This was the first time since 1894 that a governor of Texas won the election without securing a majority of the popular vote. 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 Ben Barnes, lieutenant governor and former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Dolph Briscoe, former state representative from Uvalde and candidate for governor in 1968 Frances Farenthold, state representative from Corpus Christi Robert E. Looney William H. Posey Preston Smith, incumbent governor Gordon F. Wills Results Democratic primary results Dolph Briscoe Democratic Party (United States) 963,397 43.93% Frances Farenthold Democratic Party (United States) 612,051 27.91% Ben Barnes Democratic Party (United States) 392,356 17.89% Preston Smith (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 190,709 8.70% William H. Posey Democratic Party (United States) 13,727 0.62% Gordon F. Wills Democratic Party (United States) 10,438 0.48% Robert E. Looney Democratic Party (United States) 10,225 0.47% 2,192,903 100.00% Runoff Democratic runoff results Dolph Briscoe Democratic Party (United States) 1,095,168 55.32% Frances Farenthold Democratic Party (United States) 884,594 44.68% 1,979,762 100.00% Republican primary Candidates Albert B. Fay, Houston oilman Henry Grover, former state representative from Harris County John A. Hall Sr. J. A. Jenkins Tom McElroy David Reagan Results Republican primary resultshttps://archive.org/details/texasalmanac20000000unse/page/434/mode/2up Texas Almanac, 2000-2001 Dallas Morning News 1999 Dallas 434 2022-06-22 Henry Grover Republican Party (United States) 37,118 32.56% Albert B. Fay Republican Party (United States) 24,329 21.34% David Reagan Republican Party (United States) 20,119 17.65% Tom McElroy Republican Party (United States) 19,559 17.16% John A. Hall Sr. Republican Party (United States) 8,018 7.03% J. A. Jenkins Republican Party (United States) 4,864 4.27% 114,007 100.00% Runoff Republican runoff results Henry Grover Republican Party (United States) 37,842 66.38% Albert B. Fay Republican Party (United States) 19,166 33.62% 57,008 100.00% Results thumb|right|300px|Results for Raza Unida by county: Muñiz #ffc87b 0–5% #ffb061 5–10% #ff8649 10–15% #ff6d49 15–20% #ff5049 20–25% #ff322e 25–30% #ce0000 >30% General election results Dolph Briscoe Democratic Party (United States) 1,633,493 47.91% Henry Grover Republican Party (United States) 1,533,986 44.99% Ramsey Muniz Raza Unida Party 214,118 6.28% Deborah Leonard Socialist Workers Party (United States) 24,103 0.71% Others 3,891 0.11% 3,409,501 100.00% Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) References 1972 Texas Gubernatorial