1972 Texas gubernatorial election

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 was running for reelection, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by businessman Dolph Briscoe. Briscoe went on to win the election by a relatively small margin, winning 48% of the vote to Republican Henry Grover's 45%. Raza Unida candidate Ramsey Muniz won 6%.

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.

Primaries

Republican

Republican Primary Results

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%

Democratic

Democratic Primary results

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%

Democratic Runoff Results

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%

Results

Results for Raza Unida by County:

Muñiz

•      0-5%
•      5-10%
•      10-15%
•      15-20%
•      20-25%
•      25-30%
•      >30%

General Election Results

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

External links

• [1] May 6, 1972-Democratic Primary Results for Texas Governor
• [2] May 6, 1972-Republican Primary Results for Texas Governor
• [3] June 3, 1972-Democratic Primary Runoff
• [4] June 3, 1972-Republican Primary Runoff
• [5] November 7, 1972-General Election Results