Garry Mauro

The tightly contested 1984 Democratic Party primary for the United States Senate between Kent Hance, Lloyd Doggett, and Bob Krueger, was noted for its vitriol and highlighted cracks within the Democratic Party. The conservative Hance represented the 19th district in the United States House of Representatives, while the liberal Doggett represented Austin in the Texas State Senate. Krueger previously served as a representative in the U. S. House, but after his defeat in 1979 he lectured on English literature at several Texas universities.

The main issue during the election was amnesty for illegal immigration, which Hance opposed. Internecine debates between the liberal and conservative factions had wracked the Democratic Party since the Civil Rights Era and played an important role in the 1984 campaign. Hance claimed that Doggett was “an ultraliberal who’ll vote like Ted Kennedy” while Doggett attacked Hance’s conservative positions and ties to President Reagan.

After the first round of voting, Hance, who had been viewed as a major underdog, led Doggett by 961 votes; Krueger finished a very close third but missed the runoff. On the strength of former Krueger voters, Doggett defeated Hance by 273 votes to win the Democratic primary. However, Doggett lost in the general election to Republican Phil Gramm.