Peter W. Grayson, candidate for the Republic of Texas presidency, shot himself to death on July 9, 1838 after a long courtship ended with the woman rejecting his proposal of marriage.
Two days later, James Collinsworth, also a candidate for the same high office, drowned in Galveston Bay when he either fell or jumped from a boat. With his two major opponents out of the race, Mirabeau Lamar won in a landslide and succeeded Sam Houston as Texas’ president.
In the special election held on June 28, 1941 to fill the seat left empty by the death of longtime Senator Morris Sheppard, Lyndon Baines Johnson led Gov. W. Lee O’Daniel by 5,000 votes when he decided to turn in for the night.
After all, the young congressman reasoned, how could “Pass the Biscuits, Pappy” catch him with 96 per cent of the ballots tabulated? But the totals kept trickling in from East Texas, and by the time the winner was declared three days later it was O’Daniel by 1,300 votes.