1978 United States Senate election in Texas

1978 United States Senate election in Texas

November 7, 1978

Nominee John Tower Bob Krueger Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,151,376 1,139,149 Percentage 49.79% 49.26%

County results Tower:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Krueger:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Tie:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election John Tower Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Tower Republican

The 1978 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Tower narrowly won re-election to a fourth term. This is the closest that a Texas Democrat has come to defeating a Republican incumbent U.S. Senator.^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

• John G. Tower, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1961

Results

Senator Tower was unopposed for re-nomination.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Joe Christie, former State Senator from El Paso (1967–1973)
• Bob Krueger, U.S. Representative from New Braunfels since 1975

Campaign

Krueger and Christie had contrasting styles, and many voters were undecided until late in the campaign.^[2]

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Krueger	853,460	54.67
	Democratic	Joe Christie	707,738	45.33
Total votes			1,561,198	100.0

General election

Campaign

Krueger held a narrow lead in the polls late in the race, although the race was considered to be a 'toss-up.' On the issues, Tower attacked Krueger for voting for a constitutional amendment that would have granted U.S. senators to the District of Columbia, while Krueger attacked Tower for being an ineffective representative and a drunk. As a result of the charge, Tower refused to shake Krueger's hand at a joint appearance.^[4]

Results

Republicans celebrated the result in this election year as the 'best in a century' despite the narrow win. One analysis in the New York Times cites the growing urban middle-class voters in Houston who migrated from the Northeast as the reason for Tower being able to pull ahead and win.^[5]

General election results^[6]^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Tower (incumbent)	1,151,376	49.79%
	Democratic	Bob Krueger	1,139,149	49.26%
	Raza Unida	Luis Diaz de Leon	17,869	0.77%
	Socialist Workers	Miguel Pendas	4,018	0.17%
	N/A	Write-ins	128	0.01%
	Republican hold

See also

• 1978 United States Senate elections

References

1. Formby, Chris Essig, Ryan Murphy and Brandon (November 7, 2018). "Where Ted Cruz's close victory over Beto O'Rourke stands among Texas' historical election results". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
2. Curry, Bill (May 4, 1978). "Texas Senate Race Pits the Scholar Against Just Plain 'Joe'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
3. "TX US Senate- D Primary". OurCampaigns.com.
4. Curry, Bill (October 28, 1978). "A Gut-Level Horse Race in Texas". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
5. Times, William K. Stevens Special to The New York (November 9, 1978). "G.O.P. Victories in Texas Reflect Shift of Party Lines in Southwest". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
6. "Our Campaigns - TX US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978".
7. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.