Texas gubernatorial election, 1990
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
250px County Results
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
The 1990 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990 to elect the Governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Clements did not run for reelection, so the election pitted Democrat Ann Richards against Republican Clayton Williams. Richards narrowly defeated Williams on Election Day, winning 49% of the vote to Williams' 47%. The 1990 election marks the last time that a Democrat was elected Governor of Texas.
Primaries
Republican
| Republican Primary Results [1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Clayton Williams | 520,014 | 60.80 | |
| Republican | Kent Hance | 132,142 | 14.35 | |
| Republican | Tom Luce | 115,835 | 13.54 | |
| Republican | Jack Rains | 82,461 | 9.64 | |
| Republican | W.N. Otwell | 2,310 | 0.27 | |
| Republican | Royce X. Owens | 1,392 | 0.16 | |
| Republican | Ed Cude | 1,077 | 0.13 | |
| Total votes | 855,231 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic
| Democratic Primary Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Ann Richards | 580,191 | 39.01 | |
| Democratic | Jim Mattox | 546,103 | 38.72 | |
| Democratic | Mark White | 288,161 | 19.38 | |
| Democratic | Theresa Hearn-Haynes | 31,395 | 2.11 | |
| Democratic | Earl Holmes | 17,904 | 1.20 | |
| Democratic | Stanley Adams | 16,118 | 1.08 | |
| Democratic | Ray Rachal | 9,388 | 0.63 | |
| Total votes | 1,487,734 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic Runoff | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Ann Richards | 640,995 | 57.09 | |
| Democratic | Jim Mattox | 481,739 | 42.91 | |
| Total votes | 1,122,734 | 100.00 | ||
Campaign
Williams spent freely from his personal fortune, running a "Good Old Boy" campaign initially appealing to conservatives.[2] Prior to a series of legendary gaffes, he was leading Richards (the race was dubbed "Claytie vs. The Lady")[3] in the polls and was in striking distance of becoming only the second Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction. Meanwhile, Libertarian nominee Jeff Daiell was launching a TV campaign which, combined with personal appearances across Texas, boosted him to a showing of 129,128 votes. His drawing power made Richards the first Texas governor in many years elected without a majority.[4]
In one of his widely publicized missteps, Williams refused to shake hands with Ann Richards in a public debate, an act seen as uncouth. Earlier, Williams made an infamous joke to reporters, likening bad weather to rape, having quipped: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it".[5] In addition, it has been claimed that as an undergraduate at Texas A&M, he had participated in visits to the Chicken Ranch, a well-known Texas brothel in La Grange, and the Boy's Towns of Mexico.[6][7] As a result of his reported comments, Williams was occasionally parodied, such as in the mock political ad, "Satan Williams", which appeared on Dallas/Fort Worth public television during the 1990 campaign season.[8] Richards was sworn-in as the 45th Governor of Texas on January 15, 1991.
Results
| General Election Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Ann Richards | 1,925,670 | 49.47% | |
| Republican | Clayton W. "Claytie" Williams, Jr. | 1,826,431 | 46.92% | |
| Libertarian | Jeff Daiell | 129,128 | 3.32% | |
| Majority | 99,239 | 2.55% | ||
| Total votes | 3,881,229 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />, or <references group="..." />- ↑ Texas Alamac
- ↑ Texas Since World War II, Handbook of Texas Online, Robert A. Calvert.
- ↑ New book relates wild political, personal life of Clayton Williams
- ↑ 1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Texas
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ New book relates wild political, personal life of Clayton Williams, LubbockOnline.com, Kelly Shannon, August 14, 2007
- ↑ Trick Town, Dallas Observer, Joe Pappalardo, May 31, 2001.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
