1961 United States Senate special election in Texas

1961 United States Senate special election in Texas

April 4, 1961 (first round) May 27, 1961 (runoff)

Candidate John Tower William A. Blakley Jim Wright Party Republican Democratic Democratic First round 327,308 30.93% 190,818 18.03% 171,328 16.19% Runoff 448,217 50.58% 437,874 49.42% Eliminated   Candidate Will Wilson Maury Maverick Jr. Henry B. González Party Democratic Democratic Democratic First round 121,961 11.53% 104,992 9.92% 97,659 9.23% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated

Tower:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Blakley:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Wright:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Wilson:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Maverick:      20–30%      30–40% Gonzalez:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%

U.S. senator before election William A. Blakley Democratic Elected U.S. Senator John Tower Republican

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.

• 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 primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Tower	327,308	30.93%
	Democratic	William Blakley (incumbent)	190,818	18.03%
	Democratic	Jim Wright	171,328	16.19%
	Democratic	Will Wilson	121,961	11.53%
	Democratic	Maury Maverick Jr.	104,992	9.92%
	Democratic	Henry B. Gonzalez	97,659	9.23%
	Various	Minor candidates	44,058	4.16%
Total votes			1,058,124	100.00%

Runoff election

Results

1961 U.S. Senate special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Tower	448,217	50.58%	9.46
	Democratic	William A. Blakley (incumbent)	437,874	49.42%	8.56
Total votes			886,091	100.00%