held office longer than any previous texas governor
Governor of Texas Despite the lack of term limits, no Texas governor in the 19th or 20th centuries ever served more than seven and a half consecutive years in office (Allan Shivers) or eight years total service (Bill Clements, in two non-consecutive four-year terms). Former Governor Rick Perry, who served from 2000 to 2015, has now surpassed both these records, becoming the first Texas governor to serve three consecutive terms. When Perry won the general election on November 2, 2010, he joined Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally as the only Texas governors elected to three terms (the terms served by Governors Shivers, Daniel, and Connally were 2 year terms). In case of a vacancy in the office of governor, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.[9] This rule was added only in a 1999 amendment, prior to which the lieutenant governor only acted as governor, except during the time of the 1861 constitution, which said that the lieutenant governor would be styled "Governor of the State of Texas" in case of vacancy.[10]
Politics of Texas From 1848 until Dwight D. Eisenhower's victory in 1952, Texas voted for the Democratic candidate for president in every election except 1928, when it did not support Catholic Al Smith. The state had a white majority and Democrats re-established their dominance after the Civil War. In the mid-20th century 1952 and 1956 elections, the state voters joined the landslide for Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Texas did not vote in 1864 and 1868 due to the Civil War and Reconstruction).[3]