# History of the Democratic party in Texas **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 30, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-the-democratic-party-in-texas/773458 "2016-11-30T15:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-the-democratic-party-in-texas/773458/1 "2016-11-30T15:27:37Z")
> **[Democratic Party](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/democratic-party)** > > The Handbook of Texas is your number one authoritative source for Texas history. Read this entry and thousands more like it on our site. > [@](#): > > The history of the party in Texas can be divided into two major periods. In the first period, from independence in 1836 through the presidential election of 1952, the Democratic party in Texas was the only viable party in the state. It dominated politics at all levels. In the second major period, after 1952, the party faced a growing challenge to its control of state affairs from the once ineffective Republican party. Forty years later: [Democratic Party](https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/wad01) > [@](#): > > In the 1970s and 1980s the Democratic party in Texas also appeared more open to the interests of women and minorities. Groups such as the Mexican American Democrats and Texas Democratic Women gained a greater voice in party affairs. Also, women and members of minorities could now be found in elected positions from the governor down. Nevertheless, the state GOP continued to gain strength into the early 1990s, demonstrating its ability to compete not only in gubernatorial and senatorial races but in such down-the-ballot offices as state treasurer, agriculture commissioner, state Supreme Court justice, and railroad commissioner, as well as in various county and local posts. By 1990 Republicans also held about a third of the seats in both houses of the state legislature. In the early 1990s the GOP also successfully gained control of about a third of the Texas congressional delegation. Before the 1950s, Democrats had controlled the entire delegation. I grew up in Texas with the thought that the Democrat’s were for poor people and have even said so out loud with loud nay’s from my peers that just because you are a Democrat or a Republican doesn’t have anything to do with the rich or the poor, but somehow I can’t get it out of my mind that this really is what it is all about, even today. If this belongs in debates instead of elections I understand. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-the-democratic-party-in-texas/773458/2 "2016-11-30T23:25:09Z")
Democrats were the major party in almost the entire South from before the Civil War to after the Reagan revolution. After the Civil War, the reasoning was simple: Republicans freed the slaves. The switch to being strong Republican occurred after the passing of Civil Rights era legislation by Democrats, granting “blacks” something closer to political, economic and social equality. This did not sit well with the inhabitants of the former slave states. Texas is only slightly off the usual path because of the fact that, like Florida, it gets a lot of incoming people from places that aren’t always Republican bastions. Since the Republican Party is the primary mainstay of “big business”, there is to some extent a relationship between wealth and party affiliation, though clearly it’s not as strong as some other motivators, as this latest election shows. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-the-democratic-party-in-texas/773458/3 "2016-12-01T00:23:09Z")
I’m not really even sure that the Republicans won’t always run the state now due to how gerrymandered it is. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-the-democratic-party-in-texas/773458/4 "2016-12-04T03:15:01Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Democrats were the major party in almost the entire South from before the Civil War to after the Reagan revolution. After the Civil War, the reasoning was simple: Republicans freed the slaves. The switch to being strong Republican occurred after the passing of Civil Rights era legislation by Democrats, granting “blacks” something closer to political, economic and social equality. This did not sit well with the inhabitants of the former slave states. > > Texas is only slightly off the usual path because of the fact that, like Florida, it gets a lot of incoming people from places that aren’t always Republican bastions. Since the Republican Party is the primary mainstay of “big business”, there is to some extent a relationship between wealth and party affiliation, though clearly it’s not as strong as some other motivators, as this latest election shows. I have read that when LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act he is quoted as saying that the signature will end the democratic party in the south (and in Texas where he was from) for the forseeable future. To his credit, he signed the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-the-democratic-party-in-texas/773458/5 "2016-12-04T16:59:37Z")
Way back in my twenties during the Vietnam war I got into an argument with a young lady, whose brother was drafted into the Army, about how good LBJ was. She ended the argument by crying that her brother better come back alive or else. That was 52 years ago and I never saw her again, but I had to grow up before I realized that LBJ had not been as good of a POTUS that I as a young Texan had thought he was. I won’t go into detail, but it was a good twenty years later before I found out what his bad decisions cost our country. The United States presidential election of 1972 saw Nixon reelected. I was working in Texas for a sales manager that called us in and basically told us who to vote for (Nixon) and why we should do this. I still love Texas, but I had to grow up to the point that we were not all politically correct. I hope history doesn’t repeat itself … God only has himself to blame if Trump cause WWIII.