George W. Bush as Governor of Texas
Encyclopedia
George W. Bush served as the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 until 2000, when he resigned as governor following his election as the 43rd President of the United States
. As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice
system. Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programs
and helped make Texas
the leading producer
of wind power
ed electricity in the US.
's election to the United States
Presidency
in 1988, speculation had arisen among Republicans
that George W. Bush
would enter the 1990 Texas gubernatorial
election. This was offset by Bush's purchase of the Texas Rangers
baseball team and personal concerns regarding his own record and profile after which Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 election, even as his brother Jeb
first sought the governorship of Florida
. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced incumbent Governor Ann Richards
, a popular Democrat
who was considered the easy favorite, given Bush's lack of political credentials.
Bush was aided in his campaign by a close coterie of political advisers that included Karen Hughes
, a former journalist who was his communications adviser; Joe Allbaugh
, who became his campaign manager, and Karl Rove
, a personal friend and political activist who is believed to have been a strong influence in encouraging Bush to enter the election. Bush's aides crafted a campaign strategy that attacked Governor Richards' record on law enforcement, her political appointments, and her support of liberal political causes. Bush developed a positive image and message with themes of "personal responsibility" and "moral leadership." His campaign focused on issues such as education (seeking more accountability for schools over student performance), crime, deregulation of the economy, and tort reform
. Following an impressive performance in the debates, Bush's popularity grew. He won with 53.5 percent against Richards' 45.9 percent.
with nearly 69 percent of the vote.
He won 40 percent of the Latino vote and 21 percent of the African American vote, becoming the first Texas governor to be elected for two consecutive terms since Dolph Briscoe
was re-elected in 1974. Within a year, he had decided to seek the Republican nomination for the Presidency.
argue that he failed to give serious consideration to clemency requests.
During his tenure, Bush signed the execution warrants for more death row
inmates than any other Governor in the history of Texas, averaging a death every nine days. The only death penalty case among the 153 that came across George W. Bush's desk in his tenure as Texas Governor in which Governor Bush intervened and commuted the death sentence was that of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas
.
Bush also helped make Texas
the leading producer
of wind power
ed electricity in the US. In 1995 Bush made wind power a key facet of Texas' renewable energy policy. Under a 1999 Texas state law, electric retailers are obliged to buy a certain amount of energy from renewable sources (RPS)
. This environmentally progressive legislation is a striking counterpoint to the energy policies of his presidency that favored the status quo
.
by extending government funding and support for religious organizations providing social services such as education, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence. As governor, he reached out to religious leaders such as Kirbyjon Caldwell
(who would later offer the official benediction at Bush's presidential inauguration). He signed a memorandum on April 17, 2000 proclaiming June 10 to be Jesus Day
in Texas
, a day where he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need." Although Bush was criticized for allegedly violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"), his initiative was popular with most people across the state, especially religious and social conservatives. In the 1996 United States Presidential Election, Bush criticized Republican nominee Bob Dole
for trying to bring Pro-choice
advocates into the party.
in East Texas, as the new Texas Secretary of State.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
system. Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programs
White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, formerly the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is an office within the White House Office that is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.-Under George W. Bush:OFBCI was...
and helped make Texas
Wind power in Texas
Wind power in Texas consists of many wind farms with a total installed nameplate capacity of 10,223 MW from over 40 different projects. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state, followed by Iowa with 3,708 MW...
the leading producer
Wind power in the United States
As of the third quarter of 2011, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power in the United States was 43,461 megawatts , making it second in the world, behind China. In 2010 wind power accounted for 2.3% of the electricity generated in the United States...
of wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
ed electricity in the US.
1994
With his father George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
's election to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 1988, speculation had arisen among Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
that George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
would enter the 1990 Texas gubernatorial
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
election. This was offset by Bush's purchase of the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
baseball team and personal concerns regarding his own record and profile after which Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 election, even as his brother Jeb
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
first sought the governorship of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced incumbent Governor Ann Richards
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
, a popular Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
who was considered the easy favorite, given Bush's lack of political credentials.
Bush was aided in his campaign by a close coterie of political advisers that included Karen Hughes
Karen Hughes
Karen Parfitt Hughes is the Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State with the rank of ambassador. She resides in Austin, Texas.-Early life:Born in Paris, France, she is the daughter...
, a former journalist who was his communications adviser; Joe Allbaugh
Joe Allbaugh
Joe M. Allbaugh is an American political figure in the Republican Party. After spending most of his career in Oklahoma and Texas, Allbaugh came to national prominence working for Texas governor George W. Bush and helping manage his 2000 presidential election campaign...
, who became his campaign manager, and Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
, a personal friend and political activist who is believed to have been a strong influence in encouraging Bush to enter the election. Bush's aides crafted a campaign strategy that attacked Governor Richards' record on law enforcement, her political appointments, and her support of liberal political causes. Bush developed a positive image and message with themes of "personal responsibility" and "moral leadership." His campaign focused on issues such as education (seeking more accountability for schools over student performance), crime, deregulation of the economy, and tort reform
Tort reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
. Following an impressive performance in the debates, Bush's popularity grew. He won with 53.5 percent against Richards' 45.9 percent.
1998
As a popular governor, Bush won re-election in a landslide victoryLandslide victory
In politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election...
with nearly 69 percent of the vote.
He won 40 percent of the Latino vote and 21 percent of the African American vote, becoming the first Texas governor to be elected for two consecutive terms since Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe, Jr. was a Uvalde, Texas rancher and businessman who was the 41st Governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979....
was re-elected in 1974. Within a year, he had decided to seek the Republican nomination for the Presidency.
Capital punishment policy
Under his leadership, Texas executed 152 prisoners, more than any other governor in modern American history; critics such as Helen PrejeanHelen Prejean
Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., is a Roman Catholic religious sister, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, who has become a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.-Death row ministry:...
argue that he failed to give serious consideration to clemency requests.
During his tenure, Bush signed the execution warrants for more death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmates than any other Governor in the history of Texas, averaging a death every nine days. The only death penalty case among the 153 that came across George W. Bush's desk in his tenure as Texas Governor in which Governor Bush intervened and commuted the death sentence was that of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas
Henry Lee Lucas
Henry Lee Lucas was an American criminal, convicted of murder in 189 cases and once listed as America's most prolific serial killer; he later recanted his confessions, despite professing information only the assailant would know and flatly stating "I'm a liar" in a letter to researcher Brad Shellady...
.
Fiscal policy
Seeking to reduce high property taxes to benefit homeowners while increasing general education funding, Bush sought to create business taxes, but faced vigorous opposition from his own party and the private sector. Failing to obtain political consensus for his proposal, Bush used a budget surplus to push through a $2 billion tax-cut plan, which was the largest in Texas history and cemented Bush's credentials as a pro-business fiscal conservative. To pay for the tax cuts, he sought federal approval of a plan to privatize Texas' social services.Bush also helped make Texas
Wind power in Texas
Wind power in Texas consists of many wind farms with a total installed nameplate capacity of 10,223 MW from over 40 different projects. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state, followed by Iowa with 3,708 MW...
the leading producer
Wind power in the United States
As of the third quarter of 2011, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power in the United States was 43,461 megawatts , making it second in the world, behind China. In 2010 wind power accounted for 2.3% of the electricity generated in the United States...
of wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
ed electricity in the US. In 1995 Bush made wind power a key facet of Texas' renewable energy policy. Under a 1999 Texas state law, electric retailers are obliged to buy a certain amount of energy from renewable sources (RPS)
Renewable Portfolio Standard
A Renewable Portfolio Standard is a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal...
. This environmentally progressive legislation is a striking counterpoint to the energy policies of his presidency that favored the status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
.
Social policy
Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programsWhite House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, formerly the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is an office within the White House Office that is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.-Under George W. Bush:OFBCI was...
by extending government funding and support for religious organizations providing social services such as education, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence. As governor, he reached out to religious leaders such as Kirbyjon Caldwell
Kirbyjon Caldwell
Kirbyjon H. Caldwell is the pastor of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church, a 14,000-member megachurch in Houston, Texas, United States. He was one of President George W. Bush's most influential spiritual advisors.- Background :...
(who would later offer the official benediction at Bush's presidential inauguration). He signed a memorandum on April 17, 2000 proclaiming June 10 to be Jesus Day
Jesus Day
Jesus Day is a common term for the day of the March for Jesus held annually by some Christians on the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday, since the 1980s, with the purpose of "express[ing] their love for Jesus by serving their communities and worshiping their Lord in the streets of their...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, a day where he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need." Although Bush was criticized for allegedly violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
The Establishment Clause is the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating, Together with the Free Exercise Clause The Establishment Clause is the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,...
("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"), his initiative was popular with most people across the state, especially religious and social conservatives. In the 1996 United States Presidential Election, Bush criticized Republican nominee Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
for trying to bring Pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
advocates into the party.
Education policy
Bush supported local control of schools, higher educational standards, and an updated academic curriculum. Charter schools mired in financial scandals. There were protests against one test determining a child's promotion.Appointments
Right after his re-election, Bush named insurance commissioner Elton Boomer, a Democrat from Anderson CountyAnderson County, Texas
Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 55,109. Its county seat is Palestine. Anderson county was organized in 1846, and is named in honor of Kenneth L. Anderson who had been Vice President of the Republic of Texas.-Geography:According to the...
in East Texas, as the new Texas Secretary of State.