Elections: New Course in Texas

The fat Texas Democratic organization was feuding and fussing. When it came time to fill Lyndon Johnson’s old Senate seat in last week’s special election, the conservative wing was snarling at the pro-Kennedy wing, and the main campaign argument of Democratic Candidate William Blakley, 62, was that he had consistently voted against New Frontier legislation since he went to Washington in January as an interim appointee.

The lean and hungry Republicans were outnumbered about 5 to 2 in voter strength. But they rallied solidly behind Political Science Professor John Tower, 35. They overhauled the wheezing G.O.P. organization, shunted off many old-line candidates and workers, recruited volunteers from among young businessmen and college graduates. Tower supporters manned ten telephones for twelve hours every day. The drive caught on. Last week, by a slim margin, Texans sent John Tower to Washington—their first Republican Senator since Reconstruction days.

Had Tower appealed only to bona fide Republicans, he would have had less chance than a snowball in Corpus Christi. But many conservative Democrats voted for him—partly in protest against Democrat John Kennedy, partly because Tower seemed to be a more vigorous conservative than Bill Blakley. Liberal Democrats also voted for Tower—for different reasons. With Blakley out, much more federal patronage will go to the liberals’ darling in Washington, Senator Ralph Yarborough (who pointedly did not endorse Blakley). More important, Tower’s victory was certain to hasten the coming of a true two-party system in Texas—with conservatives swinging over to the Republican banner, and the liberals gaining more power in Democratic ranks.