Jack Cox (Texas)
Encyclopedia
Jack M. Cox was an oil
equipment executive from Houston
and the 1962 Republican
gubernatorial nominee in the state of Texas
.
, the county seat
of Stephens County
in West Texas
. He graduated from the University of North Texas
at Denton
. He was a veteran of World War II
. From 1947-1953, he served as a Democrat
in the Texas House of Representatives
from District 108, which included Stephens County.
, challenged the three-term governor
, Marion Price Daniel, Sr.
, of Liberty
in southeastern Texas. Daniel was a veteran officeholder, having been a U.S. senator from 1953-1957. His wife and son, Price Daniel, Jr.
, were direct descendants of the legendary Sam Houston
, first president of the Republic of Texas
. Cox polled 619,834 votes (40.5 percent) in the Democrat primary, as Daniel prevailed with 908,992 votes (59.5 percent). After defeating Cox, Daniel overwhelmed the Republican nominee, William M. Steger, a Dallas
native who was later a U.S. District Court judge, appointed by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon. The federal courthouse in downtown Tyler
is named for Steger.
In 1962, Daniel was eliminated in the primary for a fourth two-year term. John B. Connally, Jr., the former U.S. Navy secretary in the John F. Kennedy
administration, waged the most active campaign of several Texas Democrats who challenged Daniel. For the primary alone, Connally traveled more than 22,000 miles, delivered forty-three major speeches, and appeared on various statewide and local telecasts. In a closely matched runoff election, Connally defeated Don Yarborough
, a liberal attorney from Houston, who carried the backing of organized labor.
(1913–1980), a rancher, banker, and newspaper publisher from Amarillo
, who had also been the unsuccessful nominee against U.S. Senator Ralph W. Yarborough (no relation to Don Yarborough) in the 1958 general election. Cox faced John Connally, only a year-and-a-half since John G. Tower, then of Wichita Falls
, had become the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Reconstruction.
In his memoirs Consequences, John Tower terms Cox:
Some Democratic liberals refused to support Connally in 1962, and Cox hoped to exploit that weakness, as Tower had done in his 1961 special election runoff against appointed Senator William Blakley of Dallas
. The Connally-Cox race was surprisingly close even though the political establishment and most of the state's newspapers supported Connally, who prevailed, 847,036 (54 percent) to 715,025 (45.6 percent). A Constitution Party candidate (not the current national Constitution Party
), Jack Carswell (died 1996), polled 7,135 votes (.4 of 1 percent). Cox carried 55 of the 254 counties, including two of the most populous, his own Harris County
and Dallas County. O.W. "Bill" Hayes of Temple
, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor
against Democrat Preston Smith, a state senator and theater owner from Lubbock
who had been reared in Lamesa
in Dawson County, trailed Cox's losing total by more than 100,000 ballots, having received 612,568 votes and victory in 16 counties. Hayes was a motivational author best known for his 1959 publication Your Memory: How to Use Untapped Memory Resources.
Ironically, Connally derided Cox for having switched parties, something Connally himself did eleven years later after the death of Lyndon Johnson and at the height of Watergate, when he lent his support to President Nixon. Connally admitted that Texas Republicans in 1962 were better organized at the precinct
level than the majority Democrats: "The Republicans worked hard, while the Democrats did not get busy until the final weeks."
Despite Cox's relatively impressive showing for a Republican candidate in an historically Democratic state, he received only 95,191 more votes in the 1962 general election than he had in the 1960 Democratic primary.
. His main primary opponent was oilman George Herbert Walker Bush, a Massachusetts
native then residing in Houston and the son of former U.S. Senator Prescott Bush
of Connecticut
. The Texas Senate seat was held by Democrat Ralph Yarborough. Also in the running was Robert J. Morris
, a New Jersey
native, a staunchly anti-communist crusader, and a former president of the University of Dallas
. Barbara Pierce Bush
, in her memoir, said that she found primary campaigns distasteful because the candidates undermine each other and provide fodder for the opposition in the general election. She then accused Cox of engaging in "harangue" at one pre-election appearance.
Barbara Bush claimed that the John Birch Society
was behind much of the opposition to her husband for the senatorial nomination. The opponents, she claimed, unfairly discounted his conservative political principles. Most JBS members supported either Cox or Morris and considered Bush a "tool of the eastern establishment" kingmakers, who had practically chosen all Republican presidential nominees since the 1930s
. Cox and Morris emphasized their support for the insurgent presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
, whom Bush also later endorsed. However, the JBS claimed that Bush was really sympathetic to Governor
Nelson A. Rockefeller, of New York
, Goldwater's principal challenger for the nomination and the epitome of eastern elitism
. Some Republican partisans chided Bush as insufficiently Texan in demeanor and manner. Bush advisors suggested that their candidate wear a cowboy hat
to fit more firmly into the state's western culture, but Bush rejected the notion as a "gimmick."
Barbara Bush in her memoir characterizes her husband as a "fiscal conservative and a social liberal," noting that her eastern friends called him "too conservative" and some Texas Republicans found him "too liberal."
In the first primary, Bush led with 62,985 votes (44.1 percent) to Cox's 45,561 (31.9 percent) and Morris' 28,279 (19.8 percent). A fourth candidate, thoracic surgeon
Milton Davis, polled the remaining 4.2 percent of the ballots. In the lower-turnout runoff to guarantee a majority nominee, Bush handily prevailed, 49,751 (62.1 percent) to Cox's 30,333 (37.9 percent). Cox then endorsed Bush and never again sought office. Though he waged an energetic campaign, Bush lost the 1964 general election to Yarborough, as Cox's particular political nemesis, Lyndon Johnson, swept to victory over Barry Goldwater for a full term in office, both nationally and in Texas.
. In September 1972, the club was sold for $800,000 to the University of Texas at Austin
. Cox was saddled with civil court judgments in excess of $120,000, one of which was a $55,000 debt owed to Mike Butler, a brick manufacturer in Austin. The money had been borrowed to purchase stock in the Forty Acres Club. Other large judgments against Cox were $47,000 owed to the Capital National Bank in Austin and $258,500 to the Dallas Bank and Trust Company. Cox thereafter left Austin for San Jose
, Costa Rica
. Twice a year he journeyed to the Panama Canal Zone
to renew his residency papers. Also in San Jose at the time was the fugitive financier Robert Vesco
. Cox was reportedly still living in San Jose in the fall of 1976.
The author has been unable to determine Cox's presence from 1977 until his death in 1990 at the age of sixty-eight. Nor can he find information on Cox's family, branch of military service, church affiliation, place and cause of death, or interment site.
Cox's political papers from 1950-1964 are housed at the Dolph Briscoe
Center for American History at the University of Texas.
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
equipment executive from Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and the 1962 Republican
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...
gubernatorial nominee in the state of 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...
.
Early years
Cox was born in or near BreckenridgeBreckenridge, Texas
Breckenridge is a city in Stephens County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,868 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Stephens County...
, the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Stephens County
Stephens County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,674 people, 3,661 households, and 2,591 families residing in the county. The population density was 11 people per square mile . There were 4,893 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
in West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
. He graduated from the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
at Denton
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
. He was a veteran of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. From 1947-1953, he served as a 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...
in the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from District 108, which included Stephens County.
Opposing Price Daniel, 1960
In 1960, Cox, a "Shivercrat" ally of former Governor Allan ShiversAllan Shivers
Robert Allan Shivers was a Texas politician who led the conservative faction of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s...
, challenged the three-term governor
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...
, Marion Price Daniel, Sr.
Price Daniel
Marion Price Daniel, Sr. , was a Democratic U.S. Senator and the 38th Governor of the state of Texas. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to be a member of the National Security Council, Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and Assistant to the President for Federal-State...
, of Liberty
Liberty, Texas
Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Liberty County, Texas, United States and a part of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 8,033 at the 2000 census....
in southeastern Texas. Daniel was a veteran officeholder, having been a U.S. senator from 1953-1957. His wife and son, Price Daniel, Jr.
Price Daniel, Jr.
Marion Price Daniel, Jr. was a United States politician from Texas who served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975.-Early life:...
, were direct descendants of the legendary Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
, first president of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
. Cox polled 619,834 votes (40.5 percent) in the Democrat primary, as Daniel prevailed with 908,992 votes (59.5 percent). After defeating Cox, Daniel overwhelmed the Republican nominee, William M. Steger, a Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
native who was later a U.S. District Court judge, appointed by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon. The federal courthouse in downtown Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
is named for Steger.
In 1962, Daniel was eliminated in the primary for a fourth two-year term. John B. Connally, Jr., the former U.S. Navy secretary in the John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
administration, waged the most active campaign of several Texas Democrats who challenged Daniel. For the primary alone, Connally traveled more than 22,000 miles, delivered forty-three major speeches, and appeared on various statewide and local telecasts. In a closely matched runoff election, Connally defeated Don Yarborough
Don Yarborough
Donald Howard Yarborough, known as Don Yarborough , was a liberal Democratic politician who was reportedly the first Southern politician to endorse the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yarborough, an attorney in Houston, Texas, ran for governor of Texas in 1962, 1964, and 1968...
, a liberal attorney from Houston, who carried the backing of organized labor.
1962 governor's race
Cox ran for governor again in 1962, this time as a convert to the Republican Party. In the GOP primary, he handily defeated Roy Robert Whittenburg, Sr.Roy Whittenburg
Roy Robert Whittenburg, Sr. , was a landowner, oilman, rancher, banker, and newspaper publisher from Amarillo, Texas, who was the Republican nominee in 1958 for the U.S. Senate against the Democratic incumbent, Ralph W...
(1913–1980), a rancher, banker, and newspaper publisher from Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, who had also been the unsuccessful nominee against U.S. Senator Ralph W. Yarborough (no relation to Don Yarborough) in the 1958 general election. Cox faced John Connally, only a year-and-a-half since John G. Tower, then of Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
, had become the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Reconstruction.
In his memoirs Consequences, John Tower terms Cox:
...an attractive, spirited campaigner [who faced in Connally] a political heavyweight, who was quick and deadly when it came to one-on-one slugging. It occurred to me that should Connally be elected, he would probably serve four years as governor and then challenge me for the Senate seat in 1966, a contest I might not survive. ... However, our timetables never coincided. Connally served three two-year terms as governor and returned to WashingtonWashington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as treasury secretaryUnited States Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
in 1971. He ultimately switched parties and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980.
Despite Connally's effectiveness, Jack Cox refused to roll over and play dead. His principal campaign strategy was to exploit the LBJLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
issue, and he used the slogan 'Lyndon's Boy, John' to describe Connally. Cox kept hitting Connally for his close ties to Johnson and, by extension, his connection to the Kennedys. LBJ and "Lyndon's boy, John" had sold out the South, he declared at every opportunity.
Cox indeed at times seemed to be running more against Vice PresidentVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Johnson than Connally. In Tyler, he retorted: "Six flags have flown over Texas ... but we are determined that the seventh flag of LBJ will not fly over the capitol at Austin."
[Tower recalls the] Cox campaign as gutsy, but not enough to change the outcome. And KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's soaring popularity after the Cuban missile crisisCuban Missile CrisisThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
made matters worse. Still, Cox ran strongly enough to give some help to other Republicans on the ticket. None of our statewide candidates survived, but six of the Dallas CountyDallas County, TexasAs of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...
state legislative seats went Republican. Bruce AlgerBruce AlgerBruce Reynolds Alger is an American politician and a former Republican U.S. representative from Texas, the first to have represented a Dallas district since Reconstruction. He served from 1955 until 1965. He was born in Dallas but was reared in Webster Groves, Missouri, a small suburb of St...
retained his place in the U.S. House by twenty thousand votes, and Ed ForemanEd ForemanEdgar Franklin "Ed" Foreman is a motivational speaker in Dallas. He served one term representing a district in west Texas in the United States House of Representatives in 1963-65 and he served one term representing the southern district of New Mexico in Congress from 1969-71.-Early years in New...
scored a major breakthrough by taking the Sixteenth Congressional District in West Texas. ..."
Some Democratic liberals refused to support Connally in 1962, and Cox hoped to exploit that weakness, as Tower had done in his 1961 special election runoff against appointed Senator William Blakley of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. The Connally-Cox race was surprisingly close even though the political establishment and most of the state's newspapers supported Connally, who prevailed, 847,036 (54 percent) to 715,025 (45.6 percent). A Constitution Party candidate (not the current national Constitution Party
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
), Jack Carswell (died 1996), polled 7,135 votes (.4 of 1 percent). Cox carried 55 of the 254 counties, including two of the most populous, his own Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
and Dallas County. O.W. "Bill" Hayes of Temple
Temple, Texas
Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin and 34 miles south of Waco. In the 2010 Census, Temple's population was 66,102, an...
, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
against Democrat Preston Smith, a state senator and theater owner from Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
who had been reared in Lamesa
Lamesa, Texas
Lamesa is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Texas, United States. The population was 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado, Lamesa was founded in 1903. Most of the economy is based on cattle ranching and cotton farming. The Preston E...
in Dawson County, trailed Cox's losing total by more than 100,000 ballots, having received 612,568 votes and victory in 16 counties. Hayes was a motivational author best known for his 1959 publication Your Memory: How to Use Untapped Memory Resources.
Ironically, Connally derided Cox for having switched parties, something Connally himself did eleven years later after the death of Lyndon Johnson and at the height of Watergate, when he lent his support to President Nixon. Connally admitted that Texas Republicans in 1962 were better organized at the precinct
Precinct
A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...
level than the majority Democrats: "The Republicans worked hard, while the Democrats did not get busy until the final weeks."
Despite Cox's relatively impressive showing for a Republican candidate in an historically Democratic state, he received only 95,191 more votes in the 1962 general election than he had in the 1960 Democratic primary.
U.S. Senate primary, 1964
In 1964, Cox ran for the U.S. SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. His main primary opponent was oilman George Herbert Walker Bush, a Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
native then residing in Houston and the son of former U.S. Senator Prescott Bush
Prescott Bush
Prescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator, representing Connecticut from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush and the grandfather of George W...
of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. The Texas Senate seat was held by Democrat Ralph Yarborough. Also in the running was Robert J. Morris
Robert J. Morris
Robert John Morris was an American anti-Communist activist who served as chief counsel to the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security from 1951 to 1953 and from 1956 to 1958, was President of the University of Dallas and founded the now-defunct University of Plano.-Biography:Morris...
, a New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
native, a staunchly anti-communist crusader, and a former president of the University of Dallas
University of Dallas
The University of Dallas is a private, independent Catholic regional university located in Irving, Texas, established in 1956, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. According to U.S...
. Barbara Pierce Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
, in her memoir, said that she found primary campaigns distasteful because the candidates undermine each other and provide fodder for the opposition in the general election. She then accused Cox of engaging in "harangue" at one pre-election appearance.
Barbara Bush claimed that the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
was behind much of the opposition to her husband for the senatorial nomination. The opponents, she claimed, unfairly discounted his conservative political principles. Most JBS members supported either Cox or Morris and considered Bush a "tool of the eastern establishment" kingmakers, who had practically chosen all Republican presidential nominees since the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
. Cox and Morris emphasized their support for the insurgent presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, whom Bush also later endorsed. However, the JBS claimed that Bush was really sympathetic to Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Nelson A. Rockefeller, of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Goldwater's principal challenger for the nomination and the epitome of eastern elitism
Elitism
Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most...
. Some Republican partisans chided Bush as insufficiently Texan in demeanor and manner. Bush advisors suggested that their candidate wear a cowboy hat
Cowboy hat
The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with...
to fit more firmly into the state's western culture, but Bush rejected the notion as a "gimmick."
Barbara Bush in her memoir characterizes her husband as a "fiscal conservative and a social liberal," noting that her eastern friends called him "too conservative" and some Texas Republicans found him "too liberal."
In the first primary, Bush led with 62,985 votes (44.1 percent) to Cox's 45,561 (31.9 percent) and Morris' 28,279 (19.8 percent). A fourth candidate, thoracic surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
Milton Davis, polled the remaining 4.2 percent of the ballots. In the lower-turnout runoff to guarantee a majority nominee, Bush handily prevailed, 49,751 (62.1 percent) to Cox's 30,333 (37.9 percent). Cox then endorsed Bush and never again sought office. Though he waged an energetic campaign, Bush lost the 1964 general election to Yarborough, as Cox's particular political nemesis, Lyndon Johnson, swept to victory over Barry Goldwater for a full term in office, both nationally and in Texas.
Exile to Costa Rica
From 1966-1972, Cox had apparently left the oil equipment business, for he was then the manager of the Forty Acres Club, a hotel-restaurant and political gathering spot in AustinAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. In September 1972, the club was sold for $800,000 to the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. Cox was saddled with civil court judgments in excess of $120,000, one of which was a $55,000 debt owed to Mike Butler, a brick manufacturer in Austin. The money had been borrowed to purchase stock in the Forty Acres Club. Other large judgments against Cox were $47,000 owed to the Capital National Bank in Austin and $258,500 to the Dallas Bank and Trust Company. Cox thereafter left Austin for San Jose
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. Twice a year he journeyed to the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
to renew his residency papers. Also in San Jose at the time was the fugitive financier Robert Vesco
Robert Vesco
Robert Lee Vesco was a fugitive United States financier. After several years of high stakes investments and seedy credit dealings, Vesco was alleged guilty of securities fraud. He immediately fled the ensuing U.S...
. Cox was reportedly still living in San Jose in the fall of 1976.
The author has been unable to determine Cox's presence from 1977 until his death in 1990 at the age of sixty-eight. Nor can he find information on Cox's family, branch of military service, church affiliation, place and cause of death, or interment site.
Cox's political papers from 1950-1964 are housed at the 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....
Center for American History at the University of Texas.
Election results
Sources
- Ashman, Charles (1974). Connally: The Adventures of Big Bad John. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 978-0688002220.
- Knaggs, John R. (1986). Two Party Texas - The John Tower Era, 1961-1984. Eakins PressEakins PressEakins Press is an American publishing house established by Leslie George Katz in 1966, naming it in honor of painter Thomas Eakins.Katz had obtained the funds to establish the company by selling a series of paintings by Eakins that his father had purchased secretly and placed in locations...
. ISBN 978-0890155295. - The Texas Almanac 2006.
- Tower, John G. (1991). Consequences: A Personal and Political Memoir. Canada: Little, Brown Company. ISBN 0316851132