1996 United States Senate election in Texas
November 5, 1996
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County results Gramm: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Morales: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Texas |
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| Government |
The 1996 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 5, 1996, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Texas.
In the Republican primary, Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Phil Gramm easily secured the Republican nomination. In the Democratic primary, Victor Morales, a teacher and navy veteran, scored an upset victory over two incumbent U.S. Representatives to secure the nomination in a runoff.
In the general election, Gramm defeated Morales by a margin of 10.8 percentage points, securing re-election to his third and final term.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Phil Gramm, incumbent U.S. Senator
Eliminated in primary
- Henry Grover, former state senator and 1972 nominee for Governor of Texas
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phil Gramm (incumbent) | 838,339 | 85.01% | |
| Republican | David Young | 75,463 | 7.65% | |
| Republican | Henry C. "Hank" Glover | 72,400 | 7.34% | |
| Total votes | 986,202 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Victor Morales, Teacher, Navy veteran
Eliminated in runoff
- John Bryant, Incumbent U.S representative from Texas's 5th district
Eliminated in primary
- Jim Chapman, Incumbent U.S representative from Texas's 1st district
- John Odam, State Supreme Court litigator
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Victor Morales | 322,218 | 36.18% | |
| Democratic | John Bryant | 267,545 | 30.04% | |
| Democratic | Jim Chapman | 239,427 | 26.88% | |
| Democratic | John Will Odam | 61,433 | 6.90% | |
| Total votes | 890,623 | 100.00% | ||
Runoff
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Victor Morales | 246,614 | 51.18% | |
| Democratic | John Bryant | 235,281 | 48.82% | |
| Total votes | 481,895 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Morales, who never ran for statewide office before, pulled a major upset in the primary by defeating three politicians: U.S. Congressman John Wiley Bryant, U.S. Congressman Jim Chapman, and former State Supreme Court litigator John Odam. In the March run-off, he defeated Bryant with 51% of the vote. He became the first minority in Texas history to become a United States Senate nominee from either major party. Despite having no staff, raising only $15,000, and not accepting any special interest money he obtained 2.5 million votes.[4][5]
Gramm previously ran for President earlier in the year, but lost to fellow U.S. Senator Bob Dole in the Republican presidential primary. Gramm was the heavy favorite. A September poll showed Gramm leading 50% to 40%. A late October poll showed him leading with 53% to 31%.[6]
Exit Polls showed that Gramm performed well with Anglos (68% to 31%), while Morales won African Americans (79% to 19%) and Latinos (79% to 20%) respectively.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phil Gramm (incumbent) | 3,027,680 | 54.78% | |
| Democratic | Victor M. Morales | 2,428,776 | 43.94% | |
| Libertarian | Michael Bird | 51,516 | 0.93% | |
| Natural Law | John Huff | 19,469 | 0.35% | |
| Republican hold | ||||
See also
References
- ^ "1996 Senatorial Republican Primary Election Results - Texas". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
- ^ "1996 Senatorial Democratic Primary Election Results - Texas". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
- ^ "1996 Senatorial Democratic Runoff Election Results - Texas". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
- ^ "Candidate - Victor M. Morales". Our Campaigns. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
- ^ Ramos, Mary G. (1997). "Texas Almanac, 1998-1999". The Portal to Texas History. p. 384. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ "San Antonio Express-News, Archives | mySA.com". Nl.newsbank.com. October 26, 1996. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - TX US Senate Race - Nov 05, 1996".