the more liberal State Senator Lloyd Doggett and the more conservative U.S. Representative Kent Hance. In 2010, Krueger's campaign was named by the Houston Chronicle as the ninth-worst in Texas' modern political history, saying: "Caught in the middle, Krueger seemed like a bland centrist facing a fiery liberal and a folksy conservative. He ended up finishing third, out of the runoff and out of luck." From 1985 to 1989, he also wrote a regular column on a broad range of public affairs issues, which was carried in newspapers in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1990, Krueger returned to elective office in Texas, serving on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulated oil and gas as well as the rail system in the state. In his candidacy, Krueger received the most votes of any contested candidate on the primary ballot of either major party and defeated his general election opponent by a 16 percent margin. He was appointed by Governor Ann Richards in 1993 to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of four-term incumbent and 1988 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen, who became Secretary of the Treasury in President Clinton's cabinet. He served from January 21, 1993 until June 14, 1993. He lost the June 1993 special election runoff for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 1995 by a 2-to-1 margin to the popular Texas State Treasurer, Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison. In 2010, Krueger's campaign was named by the same Houston Chronicle article as the single worst in Texas' modern political history. Reasons cited for the defeat included Krueger's flip-flopping over don't ask, don't tell and also Bill Clinton's proposed BTU tax, which was unpopular in Texas. Diplomacy On October 23, 1979, Krueger was appointed by President Carter as Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Mexican Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and served the remainder of the Carter presidency until February 1, 1981. President Bill Clinton named Krueger as Ambassador to Burundi, which had been beset with violence in recent years and whose ethnic make-up was the same as that of adjoining Rwanda, whose Hutu and Tutsi groups had started a bloody civil war only months before Krueger began his service in May 1994. His family was initially not allowed to join him in Burundi due to the threat of violence. He served in Burundi until 1995, when his convoy