1962 Texas gubernatorial election

The 1962 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1962, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Democratic governor Price Daniel was running for reelection to a fourth term, but was defeated in the primary by John Connally. Although Connally was easily elected, Republican Jack Cox's 46% of the vote was the highest received by any Republican candidate for governor since George C. Butte in 1924.

1962 Texas gubernatorial election

← 1960 November 6, 1962 1964 →

Nominee John Connally Jack Cox Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 847,038 715,025 Percentage 54.0% 45.6%

County results Connally:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Cox:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Price Daniel Democratic Elected Governor John Connally Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John Connally, United States Secretary of the Navy and former aide to Lyndon Johnson
• Price Daniel, incumbent governor
• Marshall Formby, highway commissioner from Plainview
• Edwin Walker, former U.S. Army major general and anti-communist activist
• Will Wilson, former Texas Attorney General
• Don Yarborough, Houston attorney and candidate for lieutenant governor in 1960

John Connally announced two weeks before Christmas of 1961 that he was leaving the position of Secretary of the Navy to seek the Democratic nomination. Former state Attorney General Will Wilson also entered the campaign, accusing Lyndon B. Johnson of engineering Connally's candidacy. Other primary candidates were highway commissioner Marshall Formby of Plainview, another party conservative, and General Edwin A. Walker, who made anti-communism the centerpiece of his campaign.^[1]

Campaign

Democratic incumbent Marion Price Daniel, Sr. was running for a fourth consecutive two-year term, but was in political trouble following the enactment of a two-cent state sales tax in 1961, which had soured many voters on his administration. Daniel had let the tax become law without his signature, but chose not to veto the measure.

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Connally	431,498	29.82%
	Democratic	Don Yarborough	317,986	21.97%
	Democratic	Price Daniel (incumbent)	248,524	17.17%
	Democratic	Will Wilson	171,617	11.86%
	Democratic	Marshall Formby	139,094	9.61%
	Democratic	Edwin Walker	138,387	9.56%
Total votes			1,447,115	100.00%

Runoff

Democratic runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Connally	565,174	51.18%
	Democratic	Don Yarborough	538,924	48.88%
Total votes			1,104,306	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jack Cox, former state representative from Stephens County and Democratic candidate for governor in 1960
• Roy Whittenburg, rancher and oilman^[2]

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jack Cox	99,170	86.01%
	Republican	Roy Whittenburg	16,136	13.99%
Total votes			115,306	100.00%

Democratic

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Connally	847,038	53.98%
	Republican	Jack Cox	715,025	45.57%
	Constitution	Jack Carswell	7,125	0.45%
Total votes			1,569,198	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Nation: Talking in Texas". time.com. April 27, 1962. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
2. Parker, Tim (September 28, 1958). "Whittenburg discards old rules in race for Senate". The Paris News. p. 21. Retrieved March 19, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.
3. "Texas Alamanac". Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.