Homa J. Porter
Homa J. Porter, usually known as H. J. Porter or Jack Porter (February 21, 1896 - December 7, 1986) was a Texas businessman and political activist. A key figure in building a competitive Republican Party in his home state after a century of Democratic dominance, Porter was best known as Lyndon Johnson's general election opponent in the 1948 election for a seat in the United States Senate.
Biography
Homa Jackson Porter was born in Annetta, Texas on February 21, 1896.[1][2] He was raised on family's cotton and corn farm and in Weatherford, Texas.[1] He worked as a road master's clerk for the Texas and Pacific Railway while attending high school and after graduating he was employed at the Byars State Bank of Byars, Oklahoma, which was owned by a relative.[1][2]
Porter served as a private in the United States Army during World War I, and was assigned to clerical duties at the Quarteraster Officers Training School in Jacksonville, Florida.[3] After returning home he decided to pursue a career in the petroleum business.[4] Porter speculated in land, mineral rights, and test wells for oil drilling, and found success as an independent oil producer.[4] In the mid 1940s, he founded a lobbying organization for oil speculators, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, of which he became president.[5]
U.S. Senate candidate
With Texas part of the Democratic Party's Solid South since the end of the Reconstruction era in the 1870s, the Democratic nomination for statewide office had long been considered tantamount to election.[6] In 1940, Porter broke with the Democratic Party because of his opposition to a third term for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[7] Porter became a Republican after the 1940 election, and began a long term effort to construct a competitive Republican Party in Texas.[7]
In 1948, Carlos G. Watson initially received the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.[7] Watson, a loyal Republican who had run several unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate as a token candidate so that Democratic nominees would not be unopposed, agreed to step aside in favor of a more viable candidate if one could be found.[7] Sensing an opportunity to make inroads among conservative voters in the wake of both the animosity left over from the Democratic Party's runoff election between Lyndon Johnson and Coke Stevenson and the Dixiecrat defection from the Democrats because of incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman's, pro-civil rights stand, Republicans attempted unsuccessfully to recruit two Democrats, former Congressman Martin Dies Jr. and Senator W. Lee O'Daniel, the incumbent whose term was scheduled to expire in January 1949, to accept their nomination.[7] Porter had already been named to head the Dewey-Warren presidential campaign in Texas, but when both Dies and O'Daniel declined, Porter agreed to make the Senate race.[7] Watson declined the nomination in September, and the state Republican committee then selected Porter as his replacement.[7]
Porter ran an aggressive campaign and attempted to make inroads to Democratic strength by appealing to conservative voters.[8] Stevenson endorsed Porter in the general election, and Porter espoused a platform that included advocacy of states' rights, the continuation of racial segregation, aggressive anti-communism, and a pro-business approach to tax and economic policy.[8][9] In addition, Porter argued that Johnson was corrupt and that the runoff election results were so tainted that if Johnson won the general election, the U.S. Senate might refuse to seat him, depriving Texas of half its representation.[10] Porter also argued that with Truman supposedly sure to lose to Republican Thomas E. Dewey, a Republican U.S. Senator could be more effective than a Democrat.[10]
Johnson defeated Porter in November, but by a narrower margin than Democrats in Texas usually obtained.[11] Johnson returned to Washington as a senator, permanently dubbed "Landslide Lyndon." Dismissive of his critics, Johnson happily adopted the nickname,[12][13] though he came to dislike it in later years.[14]
Later life
Texas Republicans experienced increased voter support in the years that followed.[1] Porter became a member of the Republican National Committee and provided crucial support to Dwight D. Eisenhower during Eisenhower's presidential candidacy in 1952, enabling him to obtain the Republican nomination over rival Robert A. Taft.[1] Eisenhower carried Texas in 1952 and again in 1956.[15] In 1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy only narrowly won Texas, despite the presence of Lyndon Johnson on the ticket as his vice presidential running mate.[16] Republican John Tower won the 1961 special election to replace Johnson in the Senate, a further indication that Porter's 1948 candidacy had put Texas Republicans on the road to viability.[17]
Death and burial
Porter died in Houston, Texas on December 7, 1986.[1] He was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.
Family
Porter was married to Ilona Adelia Campbell (1899-1994).[1] They were the parents of a son, James William Porter (1919-2015).[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "H.J. Porter, Key Republican In Texas in 50's, Is Dead at 90". New York Times. 10 December 1986. p. B13.
- ^ a b "U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Entry for Homa J. Porter". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com LLC. June 5, 1917. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
- ^ Burg, Maclyn (November 9, 1972). "Interview with Judge Joe Ingraham and Jack Porter" (PDF). Eisenhower Library.gov/. Abilene, KS: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. pp. 3–5.
- ^ a b "Jack Porter Republican Senate Candidate Visits". Fredericksburg Standard. Fredericksburg, TX. October 27, 1948. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Independents Meet Is Re-Scheduled". Odessa American. Odessa, TX. Associated Press. September 13, 1948. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "President Gets Thurmond Dare Entering Texas". Valley Morning Star. Harlingen, TX. Associated Press. September 26, 1948. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g "GOP Senate Nominee is Named: H. J. Porter is to Make Race". Lubbock Evening Journal. Lubbock, TX. Associated Press. September 16, 1948. pp. II 1, 9 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b "Oust Left-Wingers, Asks GOP Nominee". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, TX. Associated Press. September 19, 1948. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Porter Assails Johnson Record". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. Lubbock, TX. Associated Press. October 13, 1948. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b Higgins, Richard J. (October 21, 1948). "Newspaper Advertisement: Why Texas Should Send Jack Porter to the United States Senate". Freeport Facts. Freeport, TX. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Porter Scores Blind Devotion". Amarillo Globe. Amarillo, TX. United Press International. November 3, 1948. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dallek, Robert (1991). Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-1950-5435-4 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Mystery of Ballot Box 13". Washington Post. March 4, 1990.
- ^ Caro, Robert A. (1990). The Years of Lyndon: Means of Ascent. New York, NY: Random House. p. 399. ISBN 978-0-3074-2209-5 – via Google Books.
- ^ Jackson, John S. (2014). The American Political Party System. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8157-2638-8 – via Google Books.
- ^ Glass, Andrew (November 8, 2018). "This Day in Politics: Kennedy narrowly defeats Nixon, Nov. 8, 1960". Politico.com. Washington, DC.
- ^ "Tower Terms May Victory Giant Stride". The Monitor. McAllen, TX. United Press International. June 11, 1961. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
