Preston Smith (governor)
| Preston Smith | |
|---|---|
| 40th Governor of Texas | |
|
In office January 21, 1969 – January 16, 1973 |
|
| Lieutenant | Ben Barnes |
| Preceded by | John Connally |
| Succeeded by | Dolph Briscoe |
| 35th Lieutenant Governor of Texas | |
|
In office January 15, 1963 – January 21, 1969 |
|
| Governor | John Connally |
| Preceded by | Ben Ramsey |
| Succeeded by | Ben Barnes |
| Member of the Texas State Senate from District 28 (Lubbock) | |
|
In office 1957–1963 |
|
| Preceded by | Kilmer B. Corbin |
| Succeeded by | H.J. "Doc" Blanchard |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 119 (Lubbock) | |
|
In office 1945–1951 |
|
| Preceded by | Hop Hasley |
| Succeeded by | Waggoner Carr |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Preston Earnest Smith March 8, 1912 Williamson County, Texas |
| Died | October 18, 2003 (aged 91) Lubbock, Texas |
| Resting place | Austin, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Ima Mae Smith |
| Children | 1 son and 1 daughter |
| Alma mater | Texas Tech University |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Methodist |
Preston Earnest Smith (March 7, 1912 – October 18, 2003) was the 40th Governor of Texas from 1969 to 1973, who earlier served as the lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1969.
Smith was born into a tenant farming family of 13 children in Williamson County near Austin. The family later moved to Lamesa, the seat of Dawson County on the Texas South Plains, where Smith graduated from Lamesa High School in 1928. He thereafter graduated from Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in Lubbock and built a movie theater business by the middle 1940s.
Smith was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1944 and then to the Texas State Senate in 1956. He won the Senate seat by defeating in the primary the incumbent Kilmer B. Corbin, the father of actor Barry Corbin. In 1962, Smith won the lieutenant governor's race, securing majorities in all but 16 of the 254 counties to defeat the Republican O.W. "Bill" Hayes, the running-mate of gubernatorial candidate Jack M. Cox of Houston.
In 1968, Smith was elected governor, a position he held from 1969 to 1973. He succeeded the popular Democratic Governor John B. Connally, Jr., who later switched to the Republican Party. To win the governorship, Smith first defeated Don Yarborough in the 1968 Democratic runoff election. Several other candidates, including Dolph Briscoe, a large landholder from Uvalde in the Texas Hill Country, and former Texas Attorney General Waggoner Carr, also of Lubbock, were eliminated in the primary.
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