# 1961 United States Senate special election in Texas

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vte :
The 1961 United States Senate special election in Texas was held on May 27, 1961. The election was held to replace outgoing Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who had been elected Vice President of the United States.
Republican John Tower, who had been the nominee for the regularly scheduled election in 1960, defeated 70 other candidates to become the first Republican to represent Texas in the Senate since Reconstruction in 1877. Tower was also the first Republican to be popularly elected to the Senate in any former Confederate state.
Because Texas had been a Solid South state, the loss of Johnson's Senate seat would be seen as a stinging defeat for the Kennedy administration and the Democratic Party, given that the Civil Rights Movement was getting off the ground and the increasing sympathy for it amongst increasingly influential liberal Democrats.
One of the Democrats who were defeated in the first round was congressman Jim Wright, who went on to briefly serve as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in the late 1980s.

## Primary election
### Candidates

Seventy-one candidates were on the ballot for the primary election. At the time, the filing fee for ballot access was only $50 ($528 in 2024 when adjusted for inflation).
The primary was held on April 4.

#### Major candidates

* William A. Blakley (Democrat), incumbent appointee senator
* Henry B. Gonzalez (Democrat), state senator from San Antonio
* Maury Maverick Jr. (Democrat), attorney and former state representative
* John Tower (Republican), political science professor at Midwestern State University and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1960
* Will Wilson (Democrat), Attorney General of Texas
* Jim Wright (Democrat), U.S. Representative from Fort Worth

#### Minor candidates

None of these candidates received more than 0.5% of the popular vote.
* G. H. Allen
* Jim W. Amos
* Dale Baker
* Mali Barraco
* Tom E. Barton
* R. G. Becker
* Jacob Bergolofsky
* Ted Bisland
* G. E. Blewett
* Joyce Bradshaw
* Chester D. Brooks
* William L. Burlison
* Ronald J. Byers
* Joseph M. Carter
* George A. Davisson
* Winnie K. Derrick
* Harry R. Diehl
* Harvill O. Eaton
* Jonnie Mae Eckman
* Paul F. Eix
* Ben H. Faber
* H. E. Fanning
* Charles O. Foerster Jr.
* Harold Franklin
* George N. Gallagher Jr.
* Richard J. Gay
* Van T. George Jr.
* Arthur Glover
* Delbert E. Granstaff
* Curtis E. Hill
* Willard Park Holland
* John N. Hopkins
* Mary Hazel Houston
* Ben M. Johnson
* Guy Johnson
* Morgan H. Johnson
* C. B. Kennedy
* H. Springer Knoblauch
* Lloyd Layne
* Hugh O. Lea
* V. C. Logan
* Frank A. Matera
* Brown McCallum
* James E. McKeen
* Steve Nemecek
* George E. Noyes
* Cecil D. Perkins
* William H. Posey
* George Red
* Wesley Roberts
* D. T. Sampson
* Eristus Sams
* A. Dale Savage
* Carl Schrade
* Albert Roy Smith
* Homer H. Stalarow
* Frank Stanford
* John B. Sypert
* Martha Tredway
* S. S. Vela
* Bill Whitten
* Hugh Wilson
* Hoyt G. Wilson
* Marcos Zertuche
1961 U.S. Senate special election primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Tower | 327,308 | 30.93% |
| | Democratic | William Blakley (incumbent) | 190,818 | 18.03% |
| | Democratic | Jim Wright | 171,328 | 16.19% |
| | Democratic | Will Wilson | 121,961 | 11.53% |
| | Democratic | Maury Maverick Jr. | 104,992 | 9.92% |
| | Democratic | Henry B. Gonzalez | 97,659 | 9.23% |
| | Various | Minor candidates | 44,058 | 4.16% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,058,124 | 100.00% |

## Runoff election
### Results

1961 U.S. Senate special election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | John Tower | 448,217 | 50.58% | 9.46 |
| | Democratic | William A. Blakley (incumbent) | 437,874 | 49.42% | 8.56 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 886,091 | 100.00% | |