1948 United States Senate election in Texas

1948 United States Senate election in Texas
	County Results; Johnson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Porter: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
U.S. senator before election; W. Lee O'Daniel; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Lyndon B. Johnson; Democratic

The 1948 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 2, 1948. After the inconclusive Democratic Party primary in July, a hotly contested^[2] runoff was held in August in which U.S. Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson was officially declared to have defeated former Texas governor Coke R. Stevenson for the party's nomination by eighty-seven votes.^[3] The state party's executive committee subsequently confirmed Johnson's nomination by a margin of one vote. The validity of the runoff result was challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court due to allegations of irregularities, and in later years, testimony by the parties involved indicated that widespread fraud occurred and that friendly political machines^[4] produced the votes needed for Johnson to defeat Stevenson. After years of desultory opposition to Democrats during the post-Reconstruction years of the Solid South, Republicans vigorously contested the general election by nominating businessman and party activist Jack Porter, who waged an aggressive campaign. Johnson won his first term in the Senate, but by a closer margin than usual for Texas Democrats.

^ Heard, Alexander; Strong, Donald (1950). Southern Primaries and Elections 1920-1949. University of Alabama Press. pp. 184–186. ISBN 9780836955248.
^ "Lyndon B. Johnson: A Featured Biography". United States Senate. Retrieved May 14, 2020. When Texas congressman Lyndon Johnson won election to the Senate in 1948, he took the hotly contested race by a margin of just 87 votes, earning the nickname "Landslide Lyndon."
^ "Lyndon B. Johnson: A Featured Biography". United States Senate. Retrieved August 24, 2019. When Texas congressman Lyndon Johnson won election to the Senate in 1948, he took the hotly contested race by a margin of just 87 votes, earning the nickname "Landslide Lyndon."
^ "Lyndon Baines Johnson, 37th Vice President (1961-1963)". US Senate. Retrieved October 5, 2019. An active congressman, Johnson used his New Deal connections to bring rural electrification and other federal projects into his district, then, ambitious and in a hurry, he ran in a special election for the U.S. Senate in 1941. On election night, Johnson held a lead but announced his vote tallies too soon, allowing the opponent to "find" enough votes to defeat him. {...} In 1948 he again ran for the Senate and fought a celebrated campaign for the Democratic nomination against the popular Governor Coke Stevenson. Having learned his lesson from the previous Senate race, Johnson held back on announcing his vote tallies and with the help of some friendly political machines eked out an 87-vote victory for which he was dubbed "Landslide Lyndon."

[1] Heard, Alexander; Strong, Donald (1950). Southern Primaries and Elections 1920-1949. University of Alabama Press. pp. 184–186. ISBN 9780836955248.

[2] "Lyndon B. Johnson: A Featured Biography". United States Senate. Retrieved May 14, 2020. When Texas congressman Lyndon Johnson won election to the Senate in 1948, he took the hotly contested race by a margin of just 87 votes, earning the nickname "Landslide Lyndon."

[ussenate-3] "Lyndon B. Johnson: A Featured Biography". United States Senate. Retrieved August 24, 2019. When Texas congressman Lyndon Johnson won election to the Senate in 1948, he took the hotly contested race by a margin of just 87 votes, earning the nickname "Landslide Lyndon."

[4] "Lyndon Baines Johnson, 37th Vice President (1961-1963)". US Senate. Retrieved October 5, 2019. An active congressman, Johnson used his New Deal connections to bring rural electrification and other federal projects into his district, then, ambitious and in a hurry, he ran in a special election for the U.S. Senate in 1941. On election night, Johnson held a lead but announced his vote tallies too soon, allowing the opponent to "find" enough votes to defeat him. {...} In 1948 he again ran for the Senate and fought a celebrated campaign for the Democratic nomination against the popular Governor Coke Stevenson. Having learned his lesson from the previous Senate race, Johnson held back on announcing his vote tallies and with the help of some friendly political machines eked out an 87-vote victory for which he was dubbed "Landslide Lyndon."

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