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Governors don’t always get majority of votes
Dolph Briscoe survived a surprisingly strong challenge from Republican Henry Grover on Nov. 7, 1972, but the six-percent showing by the Raza Unida candidate made the Democrat the first Texas governor in 78 years elected without a clear majority of the votes.
State law can be confusing when it comes to choosing the chief executive. Since 1918 the two main political parties have been required to hold a runoff, if no contestant receives half of the primary vote. Not so in the general election, which...