Texas Regulars
Encyclopedia
The Texas Regulars was a group based 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...

 which was formed in 1944 to deny Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 a majority of the Electoral College in the 1944 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1944
The United States presidential election of 1944 took place while the United States was preoccupied with fighting World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been in office longer than any other president, but remained popular. Unlike 1940, there was little doubt that Roosevelt would run for...

.

By the 1940s, Texas conservative Democrat
Conservative Democrat
In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a Democratic Party member with conservative political views, or with views relatively conservative with respect to those of the national party...

s were irritated with Roosevelt and his New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...

 and they were also unhappy about the Supreme Court striking down the segregated primary in Smith v. Allwright
Smith v. Allwright
Smith v. Allwright , 321 U.S. 649 , was a very important decision of the United States Supreme Court with regard to voting rights and, by extension, racial desegregation. It overturned the Democratic Party's use of all-white primaries in Texas, and other states where the party used the...

. They planned to gain control of the nominating convention and select a slate of electors who would not vote for Roosevelt. Texas Regulars supporters included Congressman Martin Dies Jr., former Texas governor Dan Moody
Dan Moody
Daniel James Moody, Jr. , was a Democratic political figure, originally from Taylor, Texas, USA. He served as the 30th Governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931, and is best remembered as a reformer and an opponent of the Ku Klux Klan...

, and Senator W. Lee O'Daniel
W. Lee O'Daniel
Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, , was a conservative Democratic Party politician from Texas, who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Known for his populist appeal, Pappy O'Daniel was the governor of Texas and later its junior U.S. Senator. He is also the only person ever to have...

.

They won the first convention, but they then lost the second convention. This led them to form their own ticket which did not field a candidate. On election day, they finished third, with 135,439 votes (0.3% of the vote). They won a majority in only Washington County, Texas, falling short of their goal as Roosevelt won Texas and the election.

The Texas Regulars disbanded soon afterward, but many of them went on to support the Dixiecrat
Dixiecrat
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States in 1948...

 candidacy of Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...

in 1948.
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