Even for Texas, the fight was savage. Governor Allan Shivers, unbeaten and still packing a wallop after two decades in politics, was the official champ. Senator Lyndon Johnson, fast and clever, and seconded by implacable old House Speaker Sam Rayburn, was the challenger. The prize: control of the Texas Democratic Party, including its 56-vote delegation to the national convention. Last week, at more than 5,000 precinct meetings in 254 counties, Lyndon Johnson gave Allan Shivers a merciless drubbing, then added a couple of sharp kicks to make certain he would not get up.
Sam Rayburn had been setting Shivers up...