1972 Texas gubernatorial election
November 7, 1972
 
Nominee Dolph Briscoe Henry Grover Ramsey Muñiz
Party Democratic Republican Raza Unida
Popular vote 1,633,493 1,533,986 214,118
Percentage 47.8% 45.0% 6.3%
County results
Briscoe:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Grover:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Muñiz:      40–50%      50–60%
Governor before election

Preston Smith
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Dolph Briscoe
Democratic

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%.

As of 2022, this is the last time Jim Hogg and Brooks counties did not vote for the Democratic candidate, instead voting for Raza Unida

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

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dolph Briscoe 963,397 43.93%
Democratic Frances Farenthold 612,051 27.91%
Democratic Ben Barnes 392,356 17.89%
Democratic Preston Smith (incumbent) 190,709 8.70%
Democratic William H. Posey 13,727 0.62%
Democratic Gordon F. Wills 10,438 0.48%
Democratic Robert E. Looney 10,225 0.47%
Total votes 2,192,903 100.00%

Runoff

Democratic runoff results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dolph Briscoe 1,095,168 55.32%
Democratic Frances Farenthold 884,594 44.68%
Total votes 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 results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Henry Grover 37,118 32.56%
Republican Albert B. Fay 24,329 21.34%
Republican David Reagan 20,119 17.65%
Republican Tom McElroy 19,559 17.16%
Republican John A. Hall Sr. 8,018 7.03%
Republican J. A. Jenkins 4,864 4.27%
Total votes 114,007 100.00%

Runoff

Republican runoff results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Henry Grover 37,842 66.38%
Republican Albert B. Fay 19,166 33.62%
Total votes 57,008 100.00%

Results

Results for Raza Unida by county:
Muñiz
  •      0–5%
  •      5–10%
  •      10–15%
  •      15–20%
  •      20–25%
  •      25–30%
  •      >30%
General election results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dolph Briscoe 1,633,493 48.79%
Republican Henry Grover 1,533,986 44.99%
Raza Unida Ramsey Muniz 214,118 6.28%
Socialist Workers Deborah Leonard 24,103 0.71%
Others 3,891 0.11%
Total votes 3,409,501 100.00%
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Texas Almanac, 2000-2001. Dallas: Dallas Morning News. 1999. p. 434. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.