Tuesday night’s midterm elections were historic for many parts of the country, including here in Texas.
State Representative James Talarico, a Democrat, defeated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to become the next U.S. Senator for the state.
Talarico’s victory, as well as other Democratic victories, breaks decades of GOP dominance in state politics.
But when was the last time Texas had a Democrat as a senator? To find the answer, you have to go back to the late 1980s.
Lloyd Bentsen holds the distinction of being the last U.S. Senator from the Democratic Party to be elected in the State of Texas.
Bentsen was first elected to serve as U.S. Senator from Texas in 1976. He would be reelected in both 1982 and 1988.
Although Bentsen won his reelection in 1988, he would resign in 1993 to become U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton.
Bentsen is also well known for delivering one of the most famous lines in American political history. In 1988, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, a presidential candidate who ran against George H.W. Bush, selected Bentsen as his running mate.
During a vice-presidential debate against Senator Dan Quayle, Quayle stated he had as much political experience as John F. Kennedy when he ran for president.
In response, Bentsen said the following: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
After resigning in 1993, another Democrat, Bob Krueger, was appointed to Bentsen’s seat by Governor Ann Richards. However, he was not elected to the seat and would end up losing the seat after serving for five months in a special election to Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Bentsen died at his Houston home on May 23, 2006, at the age of 85.
