(46.50 percent). Rodriguez spent $558,000, called himself a "moderate", and lost; Smith spent $9,500, called himself a "conservative", and won in an upset. Smith defeated Democrat Margaret Mirabal in the November general election. He polled 2,331,140 votes (54.09 percent), to Mirabal's 1,978,081 ballots (45.90 percent). The 2002 election was for the unexpired portion of a normal six-year term. The term began with the re-election of Greg Abbott to the seat in 1998. Under the Texas Constitution, after he resigned in 2001 to run for Texas Attorney General. an election had to be scheduled for fall 2002 for the remaining two years of Abbott's original term. Thus, Smith had to run for re-election in 2004. Primary election of 2004 (Losing to Green) Perry and U.S. Senator John Cornyn opposed Smith's candidacy and he eventually lost the primary to Green. Green was unopposed in the 2004 general election. Green still holds this seat on the Supreme Court. A controversial email that Smith sent out responding to Green's attack that Smith was short on credentials may have backfired and cost Smith some support. While touting his own academic achievements at the University of Texas School of Law, Smith disparaged Green's academic achievements, namely that Green had graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, a smaller and less well known law school. Senator John Cornyn is a St. Mary's alumnus. Dean Bill Piatt of St. Mary's blasted Smith, saying that it was inappropriate for a sitting Supreme Court justice to belittle one of the law schools in the State of Texas. Piatt widely distributed a letter that he had written to Smith to many alumni of St. Mary's and others in the legal community. Smith wrote a conciliatory response letter to Piatt, but did not publicize that letter. Primary election of 2006 (Losing to Willett) On January 3, 2006, Smith announced that he would enter the March 7 Republican primary for Place 2 on the Texas Supreme Court. He opposed Justice Don Willett of Austin, a Baylor and Duke University Law School graduate who was appointed to the bench in fall 2005 by Governor Perry. Bush announced on January 19, 2006, that he was supporting Willett. In 2004, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison supported Smith's reelection, but she endorsed Willett in the 2006 race. Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, himself a former Texas Supreme Court justice, also endorsed Willett.