1978 United States Senate election in Texas

* * *

| <- 1972 | November 7, 1978 | 1984 ->

|
|

|  |  |

|
|

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

|

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* v
* t
* e

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

[edit]

### Candidates

[edit]

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

#### Declined

[edit]

* Hank Grover, former State Senator (1967-1973) and candidate for Governor of Texas in 1972[2]

### Results

[edit]

Senator Tower was unopposed for re-nomination.

## Democratic primary

[edit]

### Candidates

[edit]

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

### Campaign

[edit]

Krueger and Christie had contrasting styles, and many voters were undecided until late in the campaign.[3]

### Results

[edit]

Democratic primary results[4] 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

[edit]

### Campaign

[edit]

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.[5]

### Results

[edit]

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.[6]

General election results[7][8] 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

[edit]

* 1978 United States Senate elections

## References

[edit]

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.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
2. ^ Stevens, William (May 6, 1978). "Texans Are Voting Today for House and Senate Nominees". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
3. ^ Curry, Bill (May 4, 1978). "Texas Senate Race Pits the Scholar Against Just Plain 'Joe'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
4. ^ "TX US Senate- D Primary". OurCampaigns.com.
5. ^ Curry, Bill (October 28, 1978). "A Gut-Level Horse Race in Texas". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
6. ^ Stevens, William K. (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.
7. ^ "Our Campaigns - TX US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978".
8. ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.

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