1990 Texas Attorney General election
November 6, 1990
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County results Morales: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Brown: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Texas |
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| Government |
The 1990 Texas Attorney General election took place on November 6, 1990, to elect the Texas Attorney General. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Jim Mattox chose not to seek re-election to a third term, instead choosing to run for governor. In the Democratic primary, Dan Morales, a state representative from San Antonio, narrowly defeated Houston lawyer Odam. In the Republican primary, J.E. "Buster" Brown, a state senator from Lack Jackson, defeated three other candidates, avoiding a runoff against state representative Patricia Hill by just 637 votes.
In the general election, Morales narrowly defeated Brown by a margin of 6.8 percentage points.[1]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Dan Morales, state representative from the 124th district.
Eliminated in primary
Withdrew
- John Bryant, U.S. Representative from Texas's 5th congressional district.[3][4]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dan Morales | 674,975 | 53.89% | |
| Democratic | John Odam | 577,451 | 46.11% | |
| Total votes | 1,252,426 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- J.E. "Buster" Brown, State Senator from the 17th district.
Elimenated in primary
- Patricia Hill, state representative from the 102nd district.
- H. Tex Lezar, Dallas lawyer and former aide and speechwriter for former President Richard Nixon.
- Bobby Steelhammer, Houston lawyer.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | J.E. "Buster" Brown | 359,721 | 50.09% | |
| Republican | Patricia Hill | 200,255 | 27.89% | |
| Republican | H. Tex Lezar | 109,549 | 15.25% | |
| Republican | Bobby Steelhammer | 48,643 | 6.77% | |
| Total votes | 718,168 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dan Morales | 1,963,714 | 51.90% | |
| Republican | J.E. "Buster" Brown | 1,708,110 | 45.15% | |
| Libertarian | Ray E. Dittmar | 110,511 | 2.92% | |
| Other | 971 | 0.03% | ||
| Total votes | 3,783,306 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
- ^ "1990 Attorney General General Election Results - Texas". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ "Rep. Morales Beats Odam; Brown Leads". The Victoria Advocate. March 14, 1990.
- ^ "Dallas Congressman To Seek State Post". The Victoria Advocate. June 6, 1989.
- ^ "Byrant Drops Bid For State AG Post". The Victoria Advocate. December 14, 1989.
- ^ "Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 425". The Portal to Texas History.
- ^ "Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 424". The Portal to Texas History.
- ^ "Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 426". The Portal to Texas History.