 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Hobby: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100% Canales: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The1972 Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972, in order to elect thelieutenant governor of Texas.Democratic nomineeWilliam P. Hobby Jr. defeatedRaza Unida nominee and activistAlma Canales andSocialist Workers nominee Meyer Alewitz.[1] This was the last lieutenant gubernatorial election before theConstitution of Texas was amended in 1972, which extended the state's federal officers terms from 2 to 4 years.
The Democraticprimary election was held on May 6, 1972. As no candidate won a majority of votes, there was arun-off on June 3, 1972, between the two highest ranking candidatesWilliam P. Hobby Jr. andWayne Connally. Hobby would eventually win the primary with 55.84% against Connally, and was thus elected as the nominee for the general election.[2]
| Candidate | First Round | Run-off | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| William P. Hobby Jr. | 689,729 | 33.20 | 1,101,355 | 55.84 |
| Wayne Connally | 598,316 | 28.80 | 870,929 | 44.16 |
| Joe Christie | 374,919 | 18.05 | ||
| Ralph Hall | 304,522 | 14.66 | ||
| Bill Jones | 55,201 | 2.66 | ||
| Robert E. McCord | 25,160 | 1.21 | ||
| Troy Skates | 11,317 | 0.54 | ||
| John A. Standlea | 18,116 | 0.87 | ||
| Total | 2,077,280 | 100.00 | 1,972,284 | 100.00 |
| Source:[3] | ||||
On election day, November 7, 1972,Democratic nomineeWilliam P. Hobby Jr. won the election by a margin of 2,209,170 votes against his foremost opponentRaza Unida nomineeAlma Canales, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of lieutenant governor. Hobby was sworn in as the 37th lieutenant governor of Texas on January 16, 1973.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William P. Hobby Jr. | 2,339,796 | 93.63 | |
| Raza Unida | Alma Canales | 130,626 | 5.23 | |
| Socialist Workers | Meyer Alewitz | 27,222 | 1.09 | |
| Scattering | 1,332 | 0.05 | ||
| Total votes | 2,498,976 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
