Here’s the Houston Chronicle obituary.
Briscoe (who had a mixed record as governor) was the sort of southern conservative who is no longer welcome in the Democratic Party. Indeed, his “no new taxes” pledge would probably get him labeled as a “right wing extremist” by other Democrats today. His defeat by the more liberal John Hill in the Democratic primary set the stage for Bill Clement to become the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction, which in turn was a key event in Texas changing from an overwhelming Democratic majority state to an overwhelming Republican majority, possibly second only to John Towers’ election to LBJ’s seat in the Senate in 1961.
