James Albon Mattox (August 29, 1943 - November 20, 2008) was a Dallas lawyer and Texas Democratic politician who served three terms in the United States House of Representatives and two terms as state attorney general, but lost high profile races for governor in 1990 and the U.S. Senate in 1994.
The liberal Mattox was elected to Congress from the Fifth Congressional District in 1976, 1978, and 1980. In his first election, running on the Jimmy Car...
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James Albon Mattox (August 29, 1943 - November 20, 2008) was a Dallas lawyer and Texas Democratic politician who served three terms in the United States House of Representatives and two terms as state attorney general, but lost high profile races for governor in 1990 and the U.S. Senate in 1994.
The liberal Mattox was elected to Congress from the Fifth Congressional District in 1976, 1978, and 1980. In his first election, running on the Jimmy Carter-Walter F. Mondale ticket, he defeated the Republican Nancy Judy, 67,871 (54 percent) to 56,056 (44.6 percent). The incumbent Republican Alan Steelman of Dallas, ran unsuccessfully that year for the U.S. Senate that year against Democrat Lloyd Bentsen.
In 1978 and 1980, Mattox was hard pressed by Thomas W. "Tom" Pauken, a staunchly conservative Dallas Republican attorney, who later became the state Republican chairman. In their first battle, Mattox drew 35,520 votes (50.3 percent) to Pauken's 34,672 (49.1 percent). In 1980, Mattox received...
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