1990 Texas Attorney General election
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November 6, 1990
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 County results Morales: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Brown: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Texas |
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 Government |
The 1990 Texas Attorney General election took place on November 6, 1990, to elect the Texas Attorney General. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Jim Mattox chose to run for governor instead of seeking re-election to a third term. In the Democratic primary, Dan Morales, a state representative from San Antonio, narrowly defeated Houston lawyer Odam. In the Republican primary, J.E. "Buster" Brown, a state senator from Lake Jackson, defeated three other candidates, avoiding a runoff against state representative Patricia Hill by just 637 votes.
In the general election, Morales narrowly defeated Brown by a margin of 6.8 percentage points.[1]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Dan Morales, state representative from the 124th district[2]
Eliminated in primary
Withdrew
- John Bryant, U.S. Representative from Texas's 5th congressional district[4][5]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dan Morales | 674,975 | 53.89% | |
| Democratic | John Odam | 577,451 | 46.11% | |
| Total votes | 1,252,426 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- J.E. "Buster" Brown, State Senator from the 17th district[7]
Elimenated in primary
- Patricia Hill, state representative from the 102nd district[8]
- Tex Lezar, Dallas lawyer and former aide and speechwriter for former President Richard Nixon
- Bobby Steelhammer, Houston lawyer
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | J.E. "Buster" Brown | 359,721 | 50.09% | |
| Republican | Patricia Hill | 200,255 | 27.89% | |
| Republican | Tex Lezar | 109,549 | 15.25% | |
| Republican | Bobby Steelhammer | 48,643 | 6.77% | |
| Total votes | 718,168 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dan Morales | 1,963,714 | 51.90% | |
| Republican | J.E. "Buster" Brown | 1,708,110 | 45.15% | |
| Libertarian | Ray E. Dittmar | 110,511 | 2.92% | |
| Write-in | 971 | 0.03% | ||
| Total votes | 3,783,306 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
- ↑ "1990 Attorney General General Election Results - Texas". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Member profile for Dan Morales - Texas Legislative Reference Library". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Rep. Morales Beats Odam; Brown Leads". The Victoria Advocate. March 14, 1990.
- ↑ "Dallas Congressman To Seek State Post". The Victoria Advocate. June 6, 1989.
- ↑ "Byrant Drops Bid For State AG Post". The Victoria Advocate. December 14, 1989.
- ↑ "Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 425". The Portal to Texas History.
- ↑ "Member profile for J.E. 'Buster' Brown - Texas Legislative Reference Library". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Member profile for Patricia Hill - Texas Legislative Reference Library". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 424". The Portal to Texas History.
- ↑ "Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 426". The Portal to Texas History.