When George H.W. Bush, a life-long Republican, began his political career in the 1960s, the Democrats ruled Texas.
"He had trouble finding a venue for doing that because he was a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic state at the time," said Cal Jillson, Professor of Political Science at SMU. "During the early stages of his career, Lyndon Johnson was Majority Leader in the United States Senate, Sam Rayburn was the Speaker of the House, and there were giant Democrats who were chairing things all throughout the House and Senate."
Bush lost his bid for the Senate, twice. He never won a statewide race in Texas.
"So between those, he was able to win, as a Republican, a House seat from the wealthy suburbs of Houston," Jillson said. "So a Republican could win."
History tends to repeat itself.
"He showed well. He lost in a promising sort of way," Jillson remarked. "In the way Beto O'Rourke lost just recently here. That marked him as a rising star."
Jillson said Bush helped turn Texas red with his politics and good genes. His son, George W. Bush went on to become Governor of Texas and followed in his father's footsteps as President.
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"Well, you give him a good deal of credit as a model," said Jillson. "People always respected George H. W. Bush as a man, and as a politician."
