The Transition from Democratic to Republican Control in Texas

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The Transition from Democratic to Republican
Control in Texas

• GOVT 2306

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The basic objective of this set of slides is to
understand how Texas went from a one party state
fully controlled by Democrats, to a one party
state dominated if not controlled by
Republicans.
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Along the way well touch on the political
history of the state, the policy positions of the
two parties, the relationship between the state
and national parties, and various other topics.
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This is a trend that has impacted most of the
other southern states as well so its not unique
to Texas.This has been one of the more
consequential political shifts in recent decades
and it helps explain the current nature of the
political climate especially where tension
between the states, and between the national and
state governments play out.
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Frontline How Texas became a Red State.
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I want to make one key point about this shift
before proceeding. It should help put in context.
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The shift in many ways was an ideological
shift. Neither major party was fully liberal or
conservative prior to this shift in the 1960s.
There were many reason a person might identify
with a political party that had nothing to do
with ideology. Regional identity, or group
identity helped explain party identification just
as much.
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These matter less and less.What divides parties
more today is the fact that the are more
ideologically distinct. People have sorted
themselves into parties that fit their
ideological points of view.
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Conservatives have gravitated to the Republican
PartyLiberals have gravitated to the Democratic
Party.
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And independents have tuned out.
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Some commentators say that what ideologues have
sorted themselves to parties based on the
ideological nature of each party. Some argue
that the dysfunction we see in politics today is
a function of the shift we will be investigating
in this set of slides.
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Lets have an overview of the shift before
digging into details.Heres a look at shifts in
party identification in the state over the past
60 years.
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Trends in Party ID from Texas Politics
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Note when the shifts in identification occurs.
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This graph shows trends in turnout for each
partys primary. The blue line is for the
Democrats, the red line is for the
Republicans.You might be wondering why
Republicans do so well in elections given the
even split in party identification. We hit this
point elsewhere, but the answer is that the
groups that identify with the Republican Party
tend to vote at higher rates than those that
identify with the Democratic Party.
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There are three periods of party politics in
Texas that matter here
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1845 1960 One Party Democratic Rule.1960
1994 Two Party Competition1994 present
Republican Dominance.
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In 1845 Texas became a state partly because the
Democratic Party ran on a platform in the 1844
election pushing for annexation. In 1961 Texas
elected its first Republican Senator John Tower
to replace Lyndon Johnson when he was elected
vice president in 1960.
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The Republican Party was largely a non-entity
during this time. Any competition came between
the conservative and liberal/moderate factions
within the Democratic Party. Democratic primary
elections were highly competitive, but general
elections were not since the winner would
inevitably be the Democrat.
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Beginning in 1964 the Republican Party grew in
strength slowly. Conservative Democrats began to
switch parties, but only once it made sense for
them to do so. In 1994 Texas Republicans swept
all statewide offices, and have done so ever
since.
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We can quibble with the dates since the
transition has been gradual. These dates matter
as well
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1978 Texas elects Bill Clements, its first
Republican Governor since Reconstruction.(Why
does that matter? Because Ex-Confederates could
not participate politically until Reconstruction
was over. Texas was under the control of United
States troops who also enforced voting rights for
male ex-slaves. This made the Republican Party
temporarily powerful, but that would change.)
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1996 Republicans become the majority party in
the Texas Senate
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2002 Republicans become the majority party in
the Texas House
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2004 Republicans become the majority of the
Texas delegation in the United States House of
Representatives.
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Click here for a good overview of when the shifts
from Democrat to Republican happened in Texas
governing offices.
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For detail on the change read Misunderstanding
the Southern Realignment
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Question Did the conservatives leave the
Democratic Party voluntarily or where they driven
out?
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Heres a look at the gradual shift in voting
patterns for the presidency. When and why did
southern states begin to change their votes from
Democrats to Republicans?
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Here are a few terms to get comfortable with
first
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First The Solid South.Related Politics of the
Southern United States.
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Second Realigning Elections.Related Fifth
Party System.
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Third Civil Rights Act of 1964Related The
Southern Strategy
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Heres a bit more on each.
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The term Solid South specifically refers to the
fact that southern states generally defined as
being the states of the old Confederacy, plus
border states that were slave owning but did not
attempt to secede voted Democrat as a block for
over a century. Now many of these states have
switched over to voting Republican which means
that the term Solid South may best refer to the
fact that the political culture within these
states binds them together and leads them to vote
alike.
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This by the way is a reflection of the unique
political culture of the south, as well as
Texas.Which was a subject of some of the early
slides.
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To be more specific, five states Louisiana,
Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina
are argued to be the deep south. Southern
values dominate more that in the neighboring
states.The size of Texas means that it has
areas where it is western, plains and Latino in
nature.
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These are considered to be the Southern States
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And again, these states being considered to be
the Deep South.
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A realigning election is an election where a
major shift has occurred in voting behavior among
key parts of the electorate. Generally its when
one partys dominance of the political process
changes, and the others begins. We spent some
time in 2305 discussing the concept. Researchers
suggest that there have been six such elections
in American history.
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180018281860189619321968
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We will note that the shift in 1968 when
Democratic dominance ended and the two parties
began splitting control of governing institutions
was driven largely because of changes in the
voting behavior of Southern States. This begins
prominently in 1964.
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The reason 1964 sticks out is because that was
the election immediately following the signing
by a Texas Democrat in the White House of the
Civil Rights Act. The relationship between the
South and the Democratic Party was already
frayed, but this marked a repositioning of the
national party from supporting to opposing racial
segregation.
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The Republican Party would adopt the Southern
Strategy where they made subtle appeals to
Southern voters. These began with Richard Nixon
in 1968 and continued with Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Heres an article that argues that this was an
attempt to turn the Republican Party into the
White Mans Party.
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There is more to the story that civil rights, but
essentially a repositioning on issues occurred
that more firmly cemented the Democratic Party as
the liberal party and created incentives for
conservatives to gravitate towards the Republican
Party.
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This has lead to what are now two parties that
are polarized ideologically. We will not
discuss this concept here that much, but much of
the dysfunction that is argued to exist in
Congress and between the states is argued to be a
consequence of the forces unleashed in the
transformation we cover here.
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Heres a graphical evidence of the process
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Lets apply these concepts to an overview of
southern and Texas - votes for the presidency
in key elections in American history.
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And here are examples of them voting as a bloc
for presidents over history.Source of maps
270towin.com.
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Note that the red states are the Republicans and
the blue states are the Democrats.
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1860
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This was the election that led to the Civil War.
Republicans developed as the abolition party.
Democrats split into northern and southern
factions. Texas joined the Southern Democrats who
were more supportive of slavery as a right
enshrined in the Constitution as decided in the
Dred Scott decision - and promoted its expansion
into the Territories. Animosity towards
Republicans would bind the South to the
Democratic party for decades.The Democrats were
the party that sought to preserved southern
racial policies, as well as agrarian policies in
general. This helps explain the partys appeal.
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But there was more than just that.Democrats
continued to promote the interests of the
agrarian sector while Republicans more fully
promoted industry which would have no real
presence in the South for almost a century.
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1880
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The 1880 election was the first presidential
election after the end of Reconstruction, meaning
that ex confederates could participate in
elections and hold office. The dominant issue was
the tariff, which pit the industrial, Republican
north against the agrarian, Democratic south.
Tariffs protected American industry, but
increased costs to consumers and led to the
imposition of tariffs on items agricultural items
grown in the South and exported elsewhere.
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1904
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The tariff continued to be an issue, as did the
gold standard. Industry backed Republican
candidates supported the gold standard, which
Southern Democrats among others opposed. They
wanted money backed by a combination of gold and
silver which they argued would increase the
prices for their crops. This helped fuel the idea
that the Republican Party did not care about the
South and deliberately adopted policies that hurt
it.
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1928
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This was the last election of the fourth party
system. Republicans had dominated elections since
1896. Herbert Hoover won a landslide. Democrats
held their convention that year in Houston the
first time it was held in the South. Republicans
benefitted from a booming economy that did not
seem likely to end but it did of course. Which
lead to the fifth party system and the inclusion
of the South in the New Deal Coalition and a seat
at the table in the FDR administration.
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This was the first time Texas voted for a
Republican for president.It would continue to
vote Democrat for members of Congress and for
state office though more on that soon enough.
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Note that Democratic leadership in southern
states grew uncomfortable with the FDRs support
for labor unions and policies like social
security, which they considered socialist. This
was enough for some southern conservatives to
start agitating within the party, but not enough
to lead to an affiliation with the Republican
Party. At least not yet.
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Things would change when Harry Truman became
president upon FDRs death and began pushing more
liberal policies nationally.This led to
rebellion in some southern states.
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1948
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The states in yellow voted for Strom Thurmond a
South Carolinian who ran as a Dixiecrat, also
known as the States Rights Democratic Party.
This demonstrated that the Democratic Party
organizations in southern states were displeased
with the decisions of national Democratic
officeholders.
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One of the principle reasons FDR was able to keep
the New Deal Coalition together was that he did
not push civil rights policies. He knew that
would push the South from the party. His
successor Harry Truman did not have the same
reservations. His push not only for civil rights,
but for Medicare and Medicaid led to a rebellion
in some southern states including Texas.
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1952
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Southern states (not including Texas however)
were back in the fold in the next election and
voted for Stevenson over Eisenhower, who was very
popular due to his leadership role in WW2.He
was not especially liked by the conservative wing
of the Republican Party. They wanted to abolish
most New Deal programs which he declined to do.

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Southern Democrats were actually more
conservative than Eisenhower. Note that Texas
Republicans supported Eisenhower. They formed an
alliance with Eisenhower and Congressional
Republicans. This was called the conservative
coalition. Despite the fact that Democrats
continued to control Congress, the conservative
coalition was able to dominate policy making.
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1964
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This was the first election following LBJs
signing of the Civil Rights Act. Doing so
effectively repositioned the Democratic Party on
the issue. After over a century of supporting
slavery and segregation or at least not
actively opposing them the party supported
policies outlawing the practice. For the first
time, the Deep South voted Republican Barry
Goldwater who would help rally the increasingly
strong conservative element in the party.
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Goldwater opposed the Civil Rights Act. The
southern states liked that. Heres a video on
the subject.
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1968
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Texas goes back to voting Democrat (for LBJs VP
Hubert Humphrey) but the South votes for American
Independent candidate George Wallace who was
then a strong supporter of segregation. Too
strong. His appeals turned many people off. But
Richard Nixon would begin using the Southern
Strategy, which was a way to make appeals to
people in the South that he thought could be
persuaded to vote for him. Direct appeals based
on race were not used, instead coded language
would be used to make the same arguments.
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Coded language is used to replace deliberately
racist language that had been successful
previously.
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Instead of race, conservatives talked in terms of
states rights, law and order, culture wars,
entitlements, and welfare.This helps explain a
lot of the political language that is used right
now.
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For a hint at how this strategy still influences
contemporary politics read Reagans Southern
strategy gave rise to the Tea Party.And heres
a quick video Ask Steve Southern Strategy.
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1972
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A landslide for Nixon. Only Massachusetts and the
Washington DC vote for his opponent. Internal
fighting within the Democratic Party allowed the
far left to dominate the party and created an
opportunity for Republicans to further appeal to
conservative Democrats. As we will see in a few
slides, this shift did not happen in Congress at
this time. It would take another 20 years for
that to happen.
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The Southern Strategy was bearing fruit.
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1976
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The Nixon Administration made the decision to bug
the headquarters of the Democratic National Party
during the 1972 campaign in what became known as
the Watergate Scandal. Nixons resignation set
the effort to convert the South back an election
cycle. Jimmy Carter an ex governor of Georgia
won the 1976 race and southern states voted for
him., including Texas.
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But an internal battle was developing within the
Republican Party. Moderate to Liberal Republicans
were being challenged by conservatives in the
party. They first rallied around Barry Goldwater.
They now rallied around Ronald Reagan. Reagan
lost the race for the 1976 Republican nomination,
but won it in 1980 along with the general
election.
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1980
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Texas has never voted for a Democratic
presidential candidate since. Though once
again it would take a while for the Republican
Party to become the majority party in the Texas
Congressional delegation. 24 years.
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While Texas made the shift in 1980, other
southern states took a little more time because
Democrats nominated an appealing southern
candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996.
Clinton took conservative positions on issues
like federalism and law and order which helped
him with southern voters.
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1992
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1996
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Barack Obama was the first non southern
Democrat to win the presidency since Kennedy in
1960. His election as well as that of George
W. Bush of Texas before him helped bind
southern states together and make them a more
permanent part of the Republican coalition.
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2012
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This is obviously a very different map than what
we saw from election in the 19th Century. The
2012 map is almost exactly opposite form the one
in 1896.
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1896
2012
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Keep in mind that the people in the states did
not necessarily change their positions on issues
though those can be modified when people move
into the state.Parties changed their positions
on issues over time for political gain.
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Some useful reading if youd like more on
this.Before and After The 2008 Election and
the Second Solid South The End of the Solid
South
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For full detail on presidential election results
in Texas click here Historical Presidential
Election Results
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A quick look at partisan shifts in the U.S.
Congress
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The following graph charts the change in partisan
composition of the Texas Delegation to the United
States House of Representatives.
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Political party strength in TexasUnited States
congressional delegations from Texas
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Trend in partisan control of Texas congressional
delegation.
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The purple line reflects the fact that the number
of seats from 2 to 36 over the course of history.
Until the mid 1960s (lets say the 59th
Congress) the Democratic Party dominated. Years
would sometimes go by with no Republicans
representing the state.
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1962 was the first year more than one Republican
was a member of the delegation. In 1984, the
year Ronald Reagan was re-elected to office, 10
Republicans were elected. In 2004, the year
George W. Bush was re-elected, Republicans became
the majority party.
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Note that Republican members of Congress do well
when a Republican presidential candidate does
well. This is called the coattail effect.
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Click here for the Texas Delegation in the 113th
Congress. Click here for the history of Texas
delegations to Congress.It currently has 24
Republican and 12 Democrats.
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Though Texas voters began voting Republican for
president in 1980, Democrats continued to
dominate the Texas congressional delegation, and
would until 2004.The Democratic Party remained
strong in the state not only in the U.S.
Congress, but in the Texas Legislature as well.
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Why?
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One A congressional or legislative candidate is
able to make a greater personal connection with
their constituency. While conservative Texas
voters might start voting for Republican
presidential candidates, their personal
connection to local representatives kept them
voting Democrat for some time.
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This also illustrates the fact that as a party
Texas Democrats could define themselves in a
way that was different than how the national
Democratic Party defined itself.This created
the tension that would eventually result in the
shift towards the Republican Party.
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Two The Democratic Party continued to be the
majority Party in Congress until 1994 when
Republicans lead by Newt Gingrich and his
Contract with America nationalized the election
and controlled both the House and Senate.
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Before that happened, there was little incentive
for conservative Democrats to change parties.
By being part of the majority party, they could
have a far greater impact on legislation and
provide benefits for their constituents. This
cannot be dome as a member of the minority party.
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When Republicans became the majority party after
the 1994 election, conservative Democrats were
invited to make the shift. Many Texans did so.
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Examples of Texas Democrats who switched
parties.Phil GrammGreg LaughlinRalph
HallAllan Ritter
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Three Texas legislators are unabashed,
enthusiastic and skillful gerrymanderers. They
can draw districts for political effect very
well. As long as Democrats were the majority
party in the legislature, they could prevent an
increasingly competitive Republican Party from
taking over Congress and the Texas Legislature.
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Democrats could draw districts minimizing
Republican representation by packing as many as
they could in a few districts as possible.This
worked until Republicans took over both the Texas
House and Senate following the election of 2002,
and then redrew electoral maps to maximize
Republican representation.
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Its a brutal process, but thats Texas politics.
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These two maps give you an idea of the change
that happened in Congress as a result of the
redistricting.
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After the 2004 Republicans were the majority
party in the Texas delegation to Congress. In
2002 the Texas delegation to the House of
Representative has 17 Democrats and 15
Republicans. In 2004 it has 11 Democrats and 21
Republicans.
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As of 2014 Texas Democrats are still
recovering.More on this below Can Democrats
stage a comeback. Some argue that they can.
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Texas became a much redder state, but it did not
necessarily become more conservative.
Conservatives simply continued their shift from
the Democratic to Republican Parties. This was
able to happen in Congress because the shift had
already happened in the Texas Legislature.
Remember that the legislature draws and redraws
districts
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Lets look then at partisan shifts in the Texas
legislature.
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Heres a graph showing the shift in partisan
control since 1870.
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Partisan Trends in the Texas Legislature
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For sources of data Party Affiliation in the
Texas LegislatureList of Governors of Texas
Historical Texas Elections
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You can see from the slides that there was some
Republican representation early on during and
following Reconstruction. By 1910, the party
was effectively a non-entity. From 1934 to 1948
no Republican served in the Texas House. From
1928 to 1964 no Republican served in the Texas
Senate.
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This explains why there is little party
organization in the Texas Legislature. There
was never a real need. This might be changing,
but more on that in a separate section.
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As with the U.S. Congress, Republican
representation increases in the early 1960s,
specifically in the 58th Session following the
election of 1962.
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Republican strength grew steadily until they
became the majority party in the Texas Senate
following the 1996 election in the 75th
legislative session, and in the Texas House
following the 2002 election in the 78th
legislative session.
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Republicans had an opportunity following the 2002
election to expand their lead over Democrats by
redrawing legislative districts in the U.S.
House, and Texas House and Senate. For a look
at this read 2003 Texas Redistricting.
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Heres a look at the partisan breakdown in the
Texas House following the 2010 election.
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Notice that areas of Democratic strength are in
the large cities and the Mexican border, while
Republican strength is in the suburban and rural
areas.
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The fact that these areas are heavily Hispanic,
along with the fact that the Hispanic population
is the fastest growing segment of the Texas
population has led some to suggest that Democrats
have an opportunity to become more competitive in
the near future. This assumes that Republicans
will not be able to make inroads into this group.
It also depends upon whether the political
participation among Hispanics increases.
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The important take-away here is to note that the
shift from Democratic to Republican
identification and voting does begin in the 1960s
following not only the Civil Rights but a large
number of other pieces of legislation designed to
expand voting rights and deal with poverty.This
supports the argument that partisan repositioning
in racial matters was a driving force in this
shift.
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In the following slides lets look at a few key
events a dates that help us walk through the
change in party Identification over time.
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Click on these for historical detail from the
TSHA about the Texas Democratic and Republican
Parties.
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Pre-Texas
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Remember that political parties had evolved for
several decades prior to when Anglos were invited
to populate the Mexican state of Texas.
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Prior to the 1828 US election, politics in the US
was restricted to elites. Property rights
requirements made mass participation difficult.
Remember that this was one of the factors
leading to the establishment of Texas.
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The Democratic Party was first competitive in the
election of 1828. It splinted off from the
Democrat-Republican Party and was developed to
support the candidacy of Andrew Jackson. It
represented the interests of the agrarian states
of the South and in many ways picked up the
positions supported by the Anti-Federalists years
before that.
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Texas was populated with people that already
identified with the Democratic Party.In
addition to that, early Texas political leaders
like Sam Houston had personal friendships with
Andrew Jackson, who was the first Democrat in the
White House.
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Democrats opposed all of that. The Whigs would
eventually split over slavery. The northern part
would become the Republican Party.
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The chief opponent of the Democratic Party was
the Whig Party until the Republican Party
developed in the 1850s. It supported the
interests of the commercial sector including
protective tariffs, infrastructure development,
and a central banking system.
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Mexican Texas Immigrants were Jacksonian
Democrats.
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Prior to becoming a state, parties unofficially
developed in the Republic of Texas. To a lesser
extent, this also occurred when Texas was a
Mexican state, but the legality of these groups
was questionable.The right to assemble was not
guaranteed by the Mexican government.
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Republic of Texas
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Personality, not party, dominated politics in the
Republic of Texas. Sam Houston was the dominant
personality, and political groups were usually
foes or supporters of the hero of San Jacinto. -
link
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During the Texas Republic, groups tended to
cluster around support for Sam Houston and his
desire to join the union, and Mirabeau Lamar and
his goal of maintaining Texas independence, and
expanding the republic westward to California.
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Houstons faction would win out.
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As discussed previously, the annexation of Texas
was controversial and was a subject in the 1844
US election.The Democrats favored the
annexation while the Whigs opposed it. The
dispute hinged largely on slavery and what Texas
annexation would mean for the balance of power
between the slave and free states.
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Since Democrats supported Texas annexation,
theres little wonder the Democratic Party
dominated the state from the start. It also
helped that most of the emigrants to Texas were
from southern US states that already identified
with the Democratic Party.
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From the TSHA section on the Democratic Party
Before 1848, elections in Texas were conducted
without organized political parties. Personality
was the dominant political force in the state.
Contests between factions evolved into a more
defined stage of competition with the development
of the Democratic party in Texas as a formal
organ of the electoral process during the 1848
presidential campaign. Even so, it was some time
before Democrats adopted any sort of a statewide
network or arranged for scheduled conventions.
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The planter classes in East Texas held most of
the power at that time in the state.
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1850sPolitics becomes affected by battle over
slavery.Parties become more organized.
Democrats begin holding state conventions most
counties begin attending them.
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Late 1850s Radical Democrats are dubbed the
Fire-Eaters. They urge a re-establishment of the
slave trade and start pushing for secession.
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1859 The Constitutional Union Party attracts
Democrats worried about radicalism within the
Democratic Party.
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Battle over secession divides unionists under
the leadership of Sam Houston - over states
rights Democrats. States rights Democrats win.
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1860 The Democratic Party splits in two. Texas
joins the Southern Democrats.Lincoln is not on
the ballot. Thats how disliked Republicans were.
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Partisan activity came to a halt during the Civil
War.There was little party activity during
reconstruction as well. Ex-Confederates could not
participate unless they took a loyalty oath to
the union. Republicans were able to become
competitive briefly as a result.
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For much of this time Texas was ruled by the
United States military. It was placed in the
Fifth Military District, under the control of a
series of generals. There was little room for
party politics.
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1867 The Republican Party of Texas is
established. They held their first convention
that year in Houston July 4th.It was a result
of the transformation of the political system in
Texas brought about by the Congressional
Reconstruction Act of 1867. The former
Confederate states had to establish new
governments and extend the franchise to freed
adult male African Americans. This did not go
over well.
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1867 The Union League used as a way to organize
and mobilize black voters. They tended to vote
for Republican candidates. This helps explain
the strong relationship that existed for many
years between the party and the African-American
community, as well as the animosity towards the
party from the ex-Confederates.
163
1868 The 14th Amendment is ratified. Southern
states had to ratify it in order to be
re-admitted to the union. The amendment includes
two clauses which expanded national power over
the states.
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The Due Process Clause which made the liberties
established in the First Amendment of the United
States Constitution applicable to the states.
The Equal Protection Clause which required each
state to provide equal protection of the laws to
persons within their jurisdiction.
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The problem with each was enforcement. Southern
states, like Texas, were generally uninterested
in enforcing them, and created barriers for the
national government to enforce them.
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Republicans had a brief period of power 1869 to
1873 where they controlled the legislature and
governors office. They were also installed in
state and county offices by reconstruction
officials, who were also able to prevent
ex-confederates from being able to hold office.
They pushed for equity in political power,
state provision of education and law enforcement
and civil rights for freed male slaves.
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1869The 1869 election returns showed the
sources of the new Republican party's electoral
strength. The strongest backing came from
counties with large black populations. White
support came mainly from the German counties of
Central Texas, frontier counties south and west
of San Antonio, and some counties in Northeast
Texas. The sources of white Republican votes were
primarily areas that had shown Unionist strength
before the war.Between 1869 and 1874 the
Radicals pushed ambitious economic and social
programs. They sponsored and secured railroad
development financed by state support of railroad
bonds, established a system of free schools,
instituted a bureau of immigration, and formed
the State Police to combat lawlessness. Despite
the party's achievements, higher taxes and
Republican racial policies produced strong
opposition to the administration from Democrats
(supported by Conservative Republicans who had
reorganized as Liberal Republicans). The
Democrats also charged the Republicans with
dictatorial practices and corruption. TSHA.
168
The only period of strength the Republican Party
had (until recently) was during Reconstruction
when union interests, immigrants from other
states and African-Americans formed its core.
Ex-Confederates had yet to be allowed to become
politically involved again.
169
Previously we discussed how the 1869 Constitution
was written by these groups and that the document
reflected a desire to make Texas comply with
national directives and to give the state power
over local areas.
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1869 Republican Edmund Davis elected governor of
Texas.
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1873 The Panic of 1873.
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1876 Reconstruction effectively ends as the
result of a deal following the disputed
presidential election of 1876. The Democratic
candidate won the majority vote, but the
electoral college winner was unclear. Eventually
a compromise was struck where the Democratic
candidate would drop his challenge if the
Republican candidate would pull federal troops
from the south. This not only ended
Reconstruction, it ended the brief period of
Republican rule in the state.
173
Democrats returned to power. Antagonism to the
Republican Party increased.
174
Identification with the Democratic Party became
so strong that the term Yellow Dog Democrat
became popular.This referred to a Democrat who
would "vote for a yellow dog before they would
vote for any Republican". There were many in
Texas.
175
For detail read Death of the Yellow Dog
Democrat.
176
Since African-Americans were a key part of the
Republican coalition along with poor whites
laws restricting their participation was central
to the re-emergence of the Democratic Party.
Electoral laws would gradually change in order
to solidify Democratic dominance of Texas
politics. Examples include the white primary and
the poll tax.
177
1876 The Greenback Party is established and
eclipses the Republican Party in the election of
1878.
178
1878 The Citizens Party of Harrison County.
179
1883 Norris Wright Cuney an African-American
politician becomes chair of the Texas
Republican Party. 1884-1896 is the Cuney Era
of the Republican Party.
180
1888 The Lily-White Movement. An attempts was
made in the Republican Party to expel
African-American delegates, called the black and
tan faction. This reflects internal divisions
within the party between white and black
factions.
181
1890 The Peoples Party is founded. This was a
populist party that reflected the concerns of
small farmers, laborers and others further down
the social food chain. They promoted regulation
of railroads and corporations, looser monetary
policy and protection from large scale landowners
notably the planter class that had
traditionally dominated Texas politics.
182
1905 The Terrell Election Law is passed which
for the first time attempted to regulate the
nominations process of each party.Previously
parties developed their own rules, including
rules associated with primaries. Now that state
took this over. Since Democrats controlled the
state, they were now in a position to dominate
how all state parties operated including the
opposition.
183
Over this time, the Democratic Party solidified
itself as the only party that mattered in the
state.General elections did not matter, only
the Democratic primary. If you wanted to hold
office in the state, you had to run as a
Democrat. To a large degree, this was true in
other southern states as well.
184
This allowed them to amass a great deal of power
in the US Congress due to strict seniority rules.
The committee members who was also a member of
the majority party and had the longest service on
the committee automatically became the committee
chair. Many Texans became committee chairs as a
result could direct federal dollars to the state
and their local districts.
185
Texas businesses especially benefited heavily
from the situation. It helps explain the
reluctance of the Texans to leave the Democratic
Party as long as it continued to be the majority
party in Congress.
186
This had an interesting benefit for Texas, and
the rest of the South.It made the state more
influential in Congress.
187
Why? Because congressional elections became
very uncompetitive and members of Congress from
Texas began to acquire seniority. Primary
elections were more easy to control so
incumbents could be re-nominated and since
there was no Republican competition of note, they
would be re-elected easily.
188
The rule of thumb was to elect people to Congress
while young and keep them in office.
189
Seniority had major advantages at that time. The
ability to automatically chair committees for
example, which they could then control almost
dictatorially. This meant these officeholders
could ensure that benefits would flow to their
districts, and some laws like civil rights
legislation could be prevented from being voted
on, much less passed.
190
Example Sam Rayburn served in Congress from
1913 1961. He would serve as Speaker three
separate times for a total of 17 years.
191
This created additional incentives to continue to
vote Democrat. It also bolsters the argument
made above about why it took longer for
Republicans to dominate the Texas delegation to
Congress than to dominate the vote for the
presidency.
192
In the early 20th Century the Texas Republican
Party positioned itself as the party of
business.Which would take a long time to reap
benefits since Texas remained an agrarian state
for a while longer, but emerging business leaders
in the state began to gravitate towards the
party.
193
Two men chaired the Republican Party from
1901-1950.Cecil A. Lyon 1901-1916Rentfro B.
Creager 1920-1950
194
While the Republican Party was not competitive in
the state, these figures and a few others
became active in national Republican
politics.The partys positions on national
policies especially its stand against
regulations - became increasingly attractive to
conservative Democrats.
195
From 1901 to 1950 . . . the party sought to
enlarge its membership by appealing for support
from Texans who were sympathetic with the
national party's programs. The domestic agenda
changed at times, but generally platforms were
pro-business. This position was sustained by
policies limiting government regulations and
expenditures and reducing taxes, while providing
aid to businessmen and farmers through extensions
of credits and imposition of tariffs. - TSHA
196
Business interests in the state were growing
and they were drawn to the national Republican
Partys opposition to regulations and labor
unions but they were still a minority. Texas
was still mostly agrarian, and the party could
not overcome continued revulsion to it due to its
history by Anglos.
197
1896 1932The Fourth Party System
198
While the Democratic Party was consolidating its
strength in the state of Texas, the Republican
Party dominated politics nationally. It
controlled the presidency except for when it
split its votes in 1912 and Woodrow Wilson was
elected President.
199
During this time the parties solidified
themselves as being agrarian (Democrats) or
commercial (Republicans). Regional divisions
evolved in voting behavior based on the dominant
industry in the state. Ongoing resentment to the
Republican Party in the South also played into
this.This map shows the strength of the
relationship between the south and the Democratic
Party during this period. The blue states are the
Democrats.
200
(No Transcript)
201
During this time a split developed in the
Republican party between the progressives and the
business sector.Republican presidents like
Theodore Roosevelt embraced progressive reforms
and increased regulations over industry, but
others like William Howard Taft, and especially
Coolidge and Harding opposed them.
202
In the presidential election of 1912 Theodore
Roosevelt ran as a candidate of the Progressive
Party, and drew enough votes away from the
Republican candidate to throw the election to the
Democrat, Woodrow Wilson. This loss would
eventually weaken Republicans because it created
an incentive for the Progressive wing of the
party to slowly pull away from it and realign to
the Democratic Party.
203
But Wilsons election was advantageous to Texas
and the Houston area because of the connections
area politicians and business leaders had to the
administration. Two key figures Edward M.
House and Jesse Jones.
204
1928 Jesse Jones is able to convince the
Democratic Party to hold its national convention
in Houston. It nominated Al Smith, whose name
was introduced by Franklin Roosevelt.
205
Ironically Texas voted for Herbert Hoover in that
election, the first time Texas voted for a
Republican president.Texas opposed Smith
because he was opposed to the Ku Klux Klan,
wanted to repeal prohibition, and was Catholic.
206
1932 1968The Fifth Party System
207
The Great Depression ended the Republican Partys
string of success. In 1932 Texas and most of the
rest of the nation voted for Franklin Roosevelt,
the Democratic nominee. Roosevelt used the
opportunity to assemble what became known as the
New Deal Coalition, a large somewhat disorganized
collection of groups in the nation. This included
the South, which had been a part of the
Democratic coalition already for a century.
208
What is the New Deal? It is the name given to a
series of programs enacted when FDR came into
office in 1933 to aggressively address the
problems associated with the Great Depression.
Many of these programs were promoted at one point
by the progressive movement. The economic crash
created an opportunity to enact these programs
due to the overwhelming victory Democrats had in
the 1932 election.
209
While the Hoover Administration directly
addressed certain aspects of the crisis, they
largely left it to the economy to pick itself up.
Many states including southern states felt
deserted by Hoover, which further alienated it
from the Republican Party.
210
The creation of the New Deal Coalition was
essential to passing these programs into
law.Members of the coalition included
 Banking and oil industries, the Democratic
state party organizations, city machines, labor
unions, blue collar workers, minorities (racial,
ethnic and religious), farmers, white
Southerners, people on relief, and intellectuals
progressives.
211
One of the ways that FDR ensured Texas support
for his administration was to ask Texas and
Speaker of the House John Nance Garner to run
as his vice-president. Aside from helping him win
the South Garner helped ensure the passage of
New Deal legislation through Congress.Other
Texans most notable Jesse Jones were also
involved in the FDR Administration.
212
This would pay dividends when the decision was
made to make Houston the center of petro-chemical
production prior to and during WW2.This
explains why Texas business interests continued
their affiliation with Democrats they received
tangible benefits for doing so. Texas also became
more attractive to business interests, which
would eventually help the Republican Party
establish itself in the state.
213
But this coalition included elements that did not
always agree on all issues. The economic crisis
allowed for the creation of temporary alliances
among groups that otherwise did not see eye to
eye. The coalition contained elements that would
eventually splinter.
214
Oil interests and labor unions would come into
conflict over whether forming a labor union was a
right the national government could enforce.
215
Business interests would also come into conflict
over various regulations that were intended to
provide relief to the unemployed and to retired
workers (social security). Texas business likes
the contracts they received, but did not want to
deal with labor unions.
216
Most importantly, white southerners existed
uneasily in a party that also included racial
minorities, as well as the progressive voices
that started to agitate for meaningful civil
rights legislation.
217
FDR was clever however. He did not push for
civil rights legislation, and made compromises in
other areas restricting benefits from
African-Americans and the poor in order to keep
southern politicians happy. See this description
of The Segregated Origins of Social Security.
218
As we will see, his successor Harry Truman -
would not hold back. He desegregated the armed
forces and held civil rights conferences in the
White House.
219
Slowly elements within the South and elsewhere
started to break with FDR over the New Deal.
Groups developed in the South to organize this
opposition.Heres a look at some of the
reactions to it
220
1936 The Jeffersonian Democrats were formed by
business groups that were increasingly
disaffected by the policies of Franklin Roosevelt
and the New Deal in general.
221
The Texas membership of this anti-Roosevelt
group was composed largely of lawyers, followed
by businessmen, farmers, and ranchers. Their
theme was that the New Deal was un-American and a
threat to the institutions that Texans cherished
and respected. . . . The Jeffersonian Democrats
attempted to identify the Roosevelt
administration with communism and made extreme
charges against the president and his family.
They also used religion, white supremacy, and
prohibitionism in their appeals. TSHA. 
222
The Texas Regulars
223
1937 The Conservative Manifesto is written by
conservatives in both parties. It featured 10
points that sounds very similar to the points
conservatives continue to make today.
224
- lowering taxes on capital gains and
undistributed profits- reducing government
spending and balancing budgets- restoring peace
to the relationship between labor and industry-
resisting government competition with private
enterprise- recognizing the importance of profit
in private enterprise- protecting collateral as
a prerequisite for credit- reducing taxes-
maintaining states' rights- aiding the
unemployed in an economical and locally
responsible manner- relying on American free
enterprise.
225
Southern Conservative Democrats agree with many
of these positions and begin to pull away from
the national party. Conflict builds between the
national party and the state parties across the
south, especially Texas.The state Democratic
Party continues to adhere to strong conservative
line, though a moderate faction begins to build
slowly. State and local Democratic Party leaders
and incumbents continue to receive support event
though support for national figures begins to
slip.
226
FDRs decision to seek 3rd and 4th terms of
office further alienated him from Texas
Democrats.1940 John Nance Garner chooses to
not run again as FDRs VP.
227
Click here for a description of Garners
increasingly contentious relationship with
FDR.An extended quote
228
In late 1936, Roosevelt's approach to labor
strikes led to a heated exchange between the
President and Garner, and from then on the vice
president became more a figure of opposition than
cooperation. Garner opposed Roosevelt's
"court-packing" plan and was noticeably absent
during the congressional debates regarding the
proposal. Roosevelt also went against Garner's
advice and aggressively tried to unseat
conservative Democrats in the 1938 midterm
elections. The President's intervention earned
him substantial enmity from conservative members
of his own party, many of them close friends of
Garner, and helped stall his legislative
agenda.When Roosevelt began to hint at the
possibility of a third term, Garner was aghast
and declared his own candidacy in December 1939.
Although he attracted some support, Garner knew
that Roosevelt would take the nomination if he
sought it. The increasing instability in Europe
assured Roosevelt's nomination and eventual
election. Garner did not reconcile with
Roosevelt, however, and did not even vote in the
1940 election.
229
Garner only received 6 of the vote in the 1940
Democratic National Convention. He was replaced
on the ticket with Henry Wallace, who had been
FDRs Secretary of Agriculture and was far more
liberal than Garner. This pushed the center of
gravity of the Democratic Party further to the
left.
230
This would continue in 1944 when FDR selected
Harry Truman, who would quickly become president
following FDRs death in 1945.
231
1944 Smith v Allwright decided. The white
primary found unconstitutional by the United
States Supreme Court.
232
The Texas Democratic Party was still segregated
at this time.Until the Supreme Court case Smith
v Allwright, only whites could vote in the
Democratic Party Primary. The party argued
unsuccessfully before the court that they were a
private organization and the federal government
had no authority over it. The court argues that
since they provided a public function, they could
be.
233
1945 FDR dies and is replaced by his
vice-president Harry Truman.
234
Truman desegregated the armed forces and promoted
the development of a civil rights agenda. This
led to the development of the States Rights
Party (the Dixiecrats) with Strom Thurmond as its
candidate in 1948. It was an early indication
that southern state Democratic Parties were
dissatisfied with the national party.
235
Thurmond received a fair amount of votes in that
electionElection, 1948Harry S Truman
(Democrat)..........................750,700Thomas
E. Dewey (Republican).....................282,240
J. Strom Thurmond (States Rights)................
106,909Henry A. Wallace (Progressive)............
..............3,764Claude A. Watson
(Prohibitionist).......................2,758Norma
n M. Thomas (Socialist)...........................
...874                  Total Vote...............
.............1,147,245
236
The Republican Party was beginning to make
inroads in the state. But would have initial
success only in national elections.
237
1950 A majority of Texans live in urban areas,
both cities and suburbs.Demographic shifts fuel
the transition.
238
1952 Texas Governor Allan Shivers clashes with
the Truman Administration over many things. His
followers were called the Shivercrats. Shivers
supported Eisenhower over Adlai Stevenson. He
helped use the Texas Democratic Party machinery
for the Republican presidential candidate.
239
He was able to alter the law to allow Eisenhower
to appear on the primary ballots of both the
Democratic and Republican Parties.
240
This lead to a backlash within the Democratic
Party. A liberal wing began to form.
241
Early 1950s Moderates and liberals in the
Democratic Party organize against Shivers.
Internal competition between the conservative and
liberal wings of the party intensifies.Competiti
on started over control of the state Democratic
Party.
242
1957 Ralph Yarborough a member of the liberal
wing of the party is elected to the U.S.
Senate. He would serve until 1971 when he was
defeated in the Democratic primary by a more
conservative Lloyd Bentsen.
243
1960 Lyndon Johnson is elected vice president on
a ticket with John F. Kennedy.He becomes
president in 1963 when Kennedy is assassinated.
His knowledge of the workings of Congress, along
with the national mood, allows him to push into
law a number of bills focused on poverty and
civil rights. These would become the events that
would transform the parties.
244
LBJs election vacated his Senate seat which was
won by a Republican.
245
1961 The first Republican elected to high office
was John Tower in 1961 who replaced Lyndon
Johnson in the Senate after he became elected
Vice-President. He was the first Republican
Senator from the South since reconstruction.
FYI There were rumors Johnson supported Nixon
over Humphrey in the 1968 election.
246
Click here for Slideshow John Tower's Historic
1961 Senate Campaign.
247
1962 The Republican Party holds its first
primary.
248
1964 The major shift occurred with Civil Rights
Act of 1964. When LBJ signed the bill it
repositioned the national Democratic Party.
Predictions were made that this would lead to a
realignment of the South from the Democratic to
Republican Parties. While it took time, it did
come true.
249
Here is a more subtle development in 1964.
George H.W. Bush son of Senator Prescott Bush
of Connecticut had already moved to Texas. In
1964 he becomes Chairman of the Harris County
Republican Party. The county organization becomes
a force in developing not only the state
Republican Party, but the national party as well.
250
Bush helps continue building the infrastructure
that would make it possible for conservative
Democrats to see a reason to shift to the
Republican Party. Without a solid organization
that guaranteed success, there was little reason
to change parties.
251
1966 Bush is elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives from the 7th Congressional
District mostly in Houston. 1970 Is defeated
by Democrat Lloyd Bentsen for U.S. Senator.
Bentsen campaigns on the idea the Bush is too
liberal for Texas.
252
1971 The Sharpstown stock-fraud scandal breaks.
Top Texas office holders all Democrats are
implicated in it, which decimates the party. This
creates opportunities for challengers notable
Republican challengers.
253
1978 Bill Clemens is elected as the first
Republican Texas governor since Reconstruction.
He had served in the Nixon Administration. He
would be defeated by Democrat Mark White in 1982,
but reelected in 1986.
254
Clemens would hire Karl Rove as an advisor. Rove
would be instrumental in developing tactics that
would drive the switch from Democratic to
Republican dominance.
255
One of Karl Roves early successes in flipping
seats from Democrats to Republicans happened in
the local area when he recruited Buster Brown to
run (successfully) against long time Democratic
State Senator Babe Schwartz in 1980.
256
1983 U.S. House Representative Phil Gramm
switches from the Democratic to Republican
parties.He would serve in the U.S. Senate from
1984 to 2002.
257
1984 Rick Perry elected to the Texas House of
Representatives as a Democrat. 1989 Perry
switches to the Republican Party, wins race for
Agriculture Commissioner in 1990.
258
1994 Republicans win control of the US House of
Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
Many Conservative Texas Democrats take the
opportunity to switch parties.It made sense now
because they could continue to chair committees
and use their seniority to benefit their
constituents.
259
Some of the leaders of the Republican majority
were from Texas and the local area. Examples
Tom DelayDick Armey
260
1995 The Formation of the Blue Dog Coalition in
Congress.These were Yellow Dog Democrats who
had been "choked blue" by extreme Democrats from
the Left.
261
Many Blue Dog Democrats would eventually switch
over to the Republican Party.
262
1997 The Republican Party becomes the majority
party in the Texas Senate for the first time
since Reconstruction.
263
2002 The Republican Party becomes the majority
party in the Texas House for the first time since
Reconstructi