Why did Preston Smith do so bad in 1972

[Fuzzy Bear]

Perhaps this is why;

In 1971 and 1972, Smith was embroiled in the Sharpstown scandal stock fraud scheme, which eventually led to his downfall. Smith lost his third-term bid for the governorship of Texas to Dolph Briscoe of Uvalde in the Democratic primary in 1972. He ran a distant fourth in the primary, behind Briscoe, women's activist Frances "Sissy" Farenthold of Corpus Christi, and Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, formerly of Comanche County.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Smith_(governor)#Political_career

I'm currently doing a TL on the TX Dems & I'll include this on the TL.

The issue was the large amount of monies Smith and other prominent Texas pols took from banker Frank Sharp over the years.  Smith was never implicated in any criminal wrongdoing, but he was viewed as being complicit in opposing reforms that would have made it harder for scandals such as Sharpstown to occur.

Smith wasn't the only prominent Texas Democrat to go down in 1974.  Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes was once considered the most likely candidate to be elected Governor.  (LBJ publicly predicted that Barnes would be President someday.)  Barnes' defeat in the 1972 primary was his last electoral foray.  So much for hotshots.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Perhaps this is why;

In 1971 and 1972, Smith was embroiled in the Sharpstown scandal stock fraud scheme, which eventually led to his downfall. Smith lost his third-term bid for the governorship of Texas to Dolph Briscoe of Uvalde in the Democratic primary in 1972. He ran a distant fourth in the primary, behind Briscoe, women's activist Frances "Sissy" Farenthold of Corpus Christi, and Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, formerly of Comanche County.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Smith_(governor)#Political_career

I'm currently doing a TL on the TX Dems & I'll include this on the TL.

The issue was the large amount of monies Smith and other prominent Texas pols took from banker Frank Sharp over the years.  Smith was never implicated in any criminal wrongdoing, but he was viewed as being complicit in opposing reforms that would have made it harder for scandals such as Sharpstown to occur.

Smith wasn't the only prominent Texas Democrat to go down in 1972.  Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes was once considered the most likely candidate to be elected Governor.  (LBJ publicly predicted that Barnes would be President someday.)  Barnes' defeat in the 1972 primary was his last electoral foray.  So much for hotshots.

Smith went down in 1972! NOT 1974.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Perhaps this is why;

In 1971 and 1972, Smith was embroiled in the Sharpstown scandal stock fraud scheme, which eventually led to his downfall. Smith lost his third-term bid for the governorship of Texas to Dolph Briscoe of Uvalde in the Democratic primary in 1972. He ran a distant fourth in the primary, behind Briscoe, women's activist Frances "Sissy" Farenthold of Corpus Christi, and Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, formerly of Comanche County.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Smith_(governor)#Political_career

I'm currently doing a TL on the TX Dems & I'll include this on the TL.

The issue was the large amount of monies Smith and other prominent Texas pols took from banker Frank Sharp over the years.  Smith was never implicated in any criminal wrongdoing, but he was viewed as being complicit in opposing reforms that would have made it harder for scandals such as Sharpstown to occur.

Smith wasn't the only prominent Texas Democrat to go down in 1972.  Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes was once considered the most likely candidate to be elected Governor.  (LBJ publicly predicted that Barnes would be President someday.)  Barnes' defeat in the 1972 primary was his last electoral foray.  So much for hotshots.

Smith went down in 1972! NOT 1974.

I've corrected the typo.

I watched the election returns in November, 1972.  I was bummed that Nixon was creaming McGovern, but I remember that, for a while, it looked as if Barefoot Sanders might beat John Tower.  (That, of course, was not to be.)