1961 United States Senate special election in Texas

none March 2026 September 2023 1961 United States Senate special election in Texas Texas presidential no 1960 United States Senate election in Texas 1960 1966 United States Senate election in Texas 1966 April 4, 1961 (first round)May 27, 1961 (runoff) 125x136px File:U.S. Senator John Tower of Texas (cropped 3x4).jpg Republican Party (United States) Bill Blakley (cropped).png Democratic Party (United States) 300px U.S. Senator William A. Blakley Democratic Party (United States) John Tower Republican Party (United States) 300pxTower: #ffe0ea 20–30% #ffc8cd 30–40% #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% Blakley: #dfeeff 20–30% #bdd3ff 30–40% #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% Wright: #c0f0c0 20–30% #aae5aa 30–40% #87de87 40–50% #5bc75b 50–60% #41b742 60–70% #309a30 70–80% Wilson: #fff6d2 20–30% #ffeeaa 30–40% #ffe680 40–50% #f4c200 60–70% #daae00 70–80% #be9600 80–90% Maverick: #ffaaee 20–30% #ff80e5 30–40% Gonzalez: #ffd3c3 20–30% #ffac8e 30–40% #ff8e65 40–50% #ff7644 50–60% #973714 80–90% #622E1B >90% First round county results (top 6 candidates) 300pxTower: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90% Blakley: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d056c >90% Tie: #ae8bb1 50% Runoff county results 300pxTower: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90% Blakley: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d056c >90% Tie: #ae8bb1 50% Runoff congressional district results 2 First round 190,81818.03% 437,87449.42% Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Runoff 448,21750.58% John Tower William A. Blakley Jim Wright Will Wilson Maury Maverick Jr. Henry B. González Will Wilson.jpg Maury Maverick Jr. 1960.jpg Henry B. González 1972.jpg Jim Wright 1955.png Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) 327,30830.93% 171,32816.19% 121,96111.53% 104,9929.92% 97,6599.23% The 1961 United States Senate special election in Texas was held on May 27, 1961. The election was held to replace outgoing Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who had been elected Vice President of the United States. Republican John Tower, who had been the nominee for the regularly scheduled election in 1960, defeated 70 other candidates to become the first Republican to represent Texas in the Senate since Reconstruction in 1877. Tower was also the first Republican to be popularly elected to the Senate in any former Confederate state. Because Texas had been a Solid South state, the loss of Johnson's Senate seat would be seen as a stinging defeat for the Kennedy administration and the Democratic Party, given that the Civil Rights Movement was getting off the ground and the increasing sympathy for it amongst increasingly influential liberal Democrats. One of the Democrats who were defeated in the first round was congressman Jim Wright, who went on to briefly serve as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in the late 1980s. Primary election Candidates Seventy-one candidates were on the ballot for the primary election. At the time, the filing fee for ballot access was only $50 ($528 in 2024 when adjusted for inflation). The primary was held on April 4. Major candidates William A. Blakley (Democrat), incumbent appointee senator Henry B. Gonzalez (Democrat), state senator from San Antonio Maury Maverick Jr. (Democrat), attorney and former state representative John Tower (Republican), political science professor at Midwestern State University and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1960 Will Wilson (Democrat), Attorney General of Texas Jim Wright (Democrat), U.S. Representative from Fort Worth Minor candidates None of these candidates received more than 0.5% of the popular vote. 10em G. H. Allen Jim W. Amos Dale Baker Mali Barraco Tom E. Barton R. G. Becker Jacob Bergolofsky Ted Bisland G. E. Blewett Joyce Bradshaw Chester D. Brooks William L. Burlison Ronald J. Byers Joseph M. Carter George A. Davisson Winnie K. Derrick Harry R. Diehl Harvill O. Eaton Jonnie Mae Eckman Paul F. Eix Ben H. Faber H. E. Fanning Charles O. Foerster Jr. Harold Franklin George N. Gallagher Jr. Richard J. Gay Van T. George Jr. Arthur Glover Delbert E. Granstaff Curtis E. Hill Willard Park Holland John N. Hopkins Mary Hazel Houston Ben M. Johnson Guy Johnson Morgan H. Johnson C. B. Kennedy H. Springer Knoblauch Lloyd Layne Hugh O. Lea V. C. Logan Frank A. Matera Brown McCallum James E. McKeen Steve Nemecek George E. Noyes Cecil D. Perkins William H. Posey George Red Wesley Roberts D. T. Sampson Eristus Sams A. Dale Savage Carl Schrade Albert Roy Smith Homer H. Stalarow Frank Stanford John B. Sypert Martha Tredway S. S. Vela Bill Whitten Hugh Wilson Hoyt G. Wilson Marcos Zertuche 1961 U.S. Senate special election primaryTX US Senate - Special Primary https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=265509 OurCampaigns.com April 4, 2020Numan V. Bartley Southern Elections: County and Precinct Data, 1950-1972 Graham Hugh D. Louisiana State University Press 1978 0-8071-0278-4 Baton Rouge and London 299–304 en John Tower Republican Party (US) 327,308 30.93% William Blakley (incumbent) Democratic Party (US) 190,818 18.03% Jim Wright Democratic Party (US) 171,328 16.19% Will Wilson Democratic Party (US) 121,961 11.53% Maury Maverick Jr. Democratic Party (US) 104,992 9.92% Henry B. Gonzalez Democratic Party (US) 97,659 9.23% Minor candidates Various 44,058 4.16% 1,058,124 100.00% Runoff election Results 1961 U.S. Senate special electionTX US Senate - Special https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=30399 OurCampaigns.com April 4, 2020 John Tower Republican Party (US) 448,217 50.58% 9.46 William A. Blakley (incumbent) Democratic Party (US) 437,874 49.42% 8.56 886,091 100.00% References 30emcollapsed 1961 Texas United States Senate Texas 1961 Texas 1961 United States Senate 1961