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1968 Texas gubernatorial election

← 1966 November 5, 1968 1970 →
 
Nominee Preston Smith Paul Eggers
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,662,019 1,254,333
Percentage 57.0% 43.0%

County results
Smith:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Eggers:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

John Connally
Democratic

Elected Governor

Preston Smith
Democratic

The 1968 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1968, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Connally did not run for reelection to a fourth term, so the election pitted Democrat Preston Smith against Republican Paul Eggers. Smith was easily elected, winning 57% of the vote to Eggers' 43%.

Democratic primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

  • Dolph Briscoe, former state representative from Uvalde
  • Waggoner Carr, former Texas attorney general and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1966
  • Johnnie Mae Hackwhorthe
  • John Hill, Texas Secretary of State
  • Eugene M. Locke, Dallas attorney and deputy U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam
  • Preston Smith, Lieutenant Governor
  • Alfonso Veloz
  • Edward L. Whittenburg
  • Don Yarborough, Houston attorney and candidate for governor in 1962 and 1964

Results[edit]

1968 Democratic gubernatorial primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Don Yarborough 421,607 24.08%
Democratic Preston Smith 386,875 22.10%
Democratic Waggoner Carr 257,543 14.71%
Democratic Dolph Briscoe 225,686 12.89%
Democratic Eugene Locke 218,118 12.46%
Democratic John Hill 154,908 8.85%
Democratic Pat O'Daniel 47,912 2.74%
Democratic Edward L. Whittenburg 22,957 1.31%
Democratic Alfonso Veloz 9,562 0.55%
Democratic Johnnie Mae Hackwhorthe 5,484 0.31%
Total votes 1,750,652 100.00%

Runoff[edit]

1968 Democratic gubernatorial runoff
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Preston Smith 767,490 55.27%
Democratic Don Yarborough 621,226 44.73%
Total votes 1,388,716 100.00%

Republican primary[edit]

Results[edit]

1968 Republican gubernatorial primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Paul Eggers 65,501 62.52%
Republican John Trice 28,849 27.54%
Republican Wallace Sisk 10,415 9.94%
Total votes 104,765 100.00%

Results[edit]

General election results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Preston Smith 1,662,019 56.99%
Republican Paul Eggers 1,254,333 43.01%
Total votes 2,916,352 100.00%
Democratic hold

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Texas Almanac". Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.