The KHOU-TV Collection - Texas Republican Convention (1964)

Duration: 9:14

Year Published: 1964

Sound: sound

Description: On June 16, 1964, the Texas Republican Party held its state convention in Dallas. According to the Associated Press, an estimated 11,000 people filled the Dallas Memorial Auditorium for the occasion. The primary objective of the convention was to vote on which presidential candidate Texas delegates would support at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco the next month. The Texas convention gave 56 delegates to Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, bringing the candidate’s pledged total to 674. He needed 655 to win the Republican nomination. In addition to voting on presidential candidates, the convention also passed a series of resolutions. One committed the state’s delegates to Goldwater until he personally released them, preventing delegates from changing their pledge at the national convention. Another resolution selected Senator John Tower of Texas as the head of the state delegation. This news footage captures the scene at the convention, including the speech delivered by Goldwater. KHOU reporter Nick Gearhart also speaks with the George H. W. Bush, who was running for United States Senate.