The 1996 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

U.S. Senator

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was ...

won re-election to a third term.

Major candidates

Democratic

* Victor Morales, Teacher, Navy veteran * John Bryant, Incumbent U.S representative *

Jim Chapman Jim Chapman may refer to: * Jim Chapman (congressman) (born 1945), American businessman and politician ** Jim Chapman Lake, a lake in Texas named after the politician * Jim Chapman (footballer) (born 1965), Scottish footballer * Jim Chapman (Intern ...

, Incumbent U.S representative *

John Odam John Will Odam (born May 19, 1943; died August 21, 2022) was an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Texas. He served as general counsel for the Harris County Attorney's Office. Biography Odam briefly served in the Unite ...

, State Supreme Court litigator

Republican

, incumbent U.S. Senator *

Henry Grover Henry Cushing Grover (April 1, 1927 – November 28, 2005), usually known as Hank Grover, was an American politician from the U.S. state of Texas best known for his relatively narrow defeat in 1972. He was a conservative Republican Election his ...

, former state senator

Campaign

Morales, who never ran for public office before, pulled a major upset in the primary by defeated three politicians: U.S. Congressman

John Wiley Bryant John Wiley Bryant (born February 22, 1947) is an American politician who represented Texas's 5th congressional district in the 98th to 104th U.S. Congress. Early life and education Bryant was born in Lake Jackson, Brazoria County, Texas. Fo ...

, U.S. Congressman

, and former State Supreme Court litigator

. 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. Gramm previously ran for President earlier in the year, but lost to fellow U.S. Senator

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his te ...

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%. 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

References

{{Elections in Texas footer

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...