A Texas WI: Lt Governor William P Hobby Jr Doesnt Retire in 1990

In OTL, Lieutenant Governor of Texas William P Hobby Jr was extremely popular, being reelected by wide margins for five terms. He retired in 1990 instead of seeking reelection to an unprecedented sixth term, leading to fellow Democrat Bob Bullock to be elected Lieutenant Governor as his successor.

Now, Bullock did not get along that well with Ann Richards, while getting along well with her successor George Bush before not seeking a third term and dying shortly thereafter.

What if William P Hobby Junior had continued to run for Lt Governor? Given his popularity he'd most assuredly win in 1990 and serve through Ann Richards first term. But what would their terms together look like? Additionally, what impact would he have on the 1994 election? Would he still win like Bullock did? What about Ann, would she still lose and Bush win?

If Bush wins and Hobby wins a 7th term, how would their relationship go? What about if Bush runs for President while Hobby is still his Lieutenant Governor--We would see Texas once again with a Democrat in the Governors house. What impact would that have going forward?

(For reference, William P Hobby Jr is still alive)
 
Probably Texas might actually be more purple or even a slightly blue state than OTL. If Hobby and Richards (Hobby is probably the more powerful of the two as the Lt Gov holds the real power in TX politics) manage to work together better, they could probably keep the Bush wing of the GOP from coming into ascendancy. People like to mock Bush, but the thing is his sort of Republican did a lot of outreach among Latinos, often by doing very un-Republican things, which has helped the GOP remain in power for much longer than expected. Butterfly Bush and, say, Perry, and all those voters could be easily incorporated into the Democratic political machine.

That, of course, creates a whole lot of butterflies. The second-largest state in the Union being a swing state or even a lean-blue state means that the calculations of both parties changes. A lot.
 
Probably Texas might actually be more purple or even a slightly blue state than OTL. If Hobby and Richards (Hobby is probably the more powerful of the two as the Lt Gov holds the real power in TX politics) manage to work together better, they could probably keep the Bush wing of the GOP from coming into ascendancy. People like to mock Bush, but the thing is his sort of Republican did a lot of outreach among Latinos, often by doing very un-Republican things, which has helped the GOP remain in power for much longer than expected. Butterfly Bush and, say, Perry, and all those voters could be easily incorporated into the Democratic political machine.

That, of course, creates a whole lot of butterflies. The second-largest state in the Union being a swing state or even a lean-blue state means that the calculations of both parties changes. A lot.

Preventing Bush always has so many butterflies
 
Top