Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
History
Date of Award
5-2011
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Emmett M. Essin III
Committee Members
Stephen G Fritz, William Douglas Burgess Jr.
Abstract
Lyndon Johnson's opponents used the outcome of his 1948 senatorial bid to demonstrate his dishonesty. This win by eighty-seven disputed votes gave him the derogatory title, "Landslide Lyndon." Johnson's initial senate campaigns in 1941 and 1948 are examined for Texas Politics as usual.
Upon Senator Sheppard's death in 1937, a special election precipitated with Martin Dies, Gerald Mann, Lyndon Johnson, and W. Lee O'Daniel as the candidates. Although this election has not received the notoriety of 1948, it exemplifies Texas Politics as usual where thousands of manipulated votes resulted in O'Daniel's late victory.
Johnson's next race for the senate came in 1948. He ran against George Peddy and Coke Stevenson. This expensive campaign rested upon two hundred two invalid votes from Jim Wells County. In reality, tens of thousands of manipulated votes on both sides resulted in litigation making its way to the United States Supreme Court.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Spradlin, Ginger McGoldrick, "The Crucible of Texas Politics: An Analysis of the United States Senatorial Primaries of 1941 and 1948." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1262. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1262
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.