William Arvis "Dollar Bill" Blakley (November 17, 1898 – January 5, 1976) was an American politician and businessman from the state of Texas. Blakley was part of the conservative wing of the Texas Democratic Party. He served twice as an interim United States Senator, appointed by the Governor to fill a vacancy until his successor could be duly elected. He served first in 1957 after the resignation of Price Daniel and again in 1961 after the resignation of Lyndon B. Johnson. Blakley ran two unsuccessful campaigns for election to the Senate in his own right. He lost the regularly scheduled 1958 primary election to incumbent liberal Democrat Ralph Yarborough. He lost as the incumbent in the 1961 election to complete Johnson's term to John Tower, the first Republican ever popularly elected from Texas. Early years and career Blakley was born in Miami Station, Missouri, but moved shortly after that with his parents to Arapaho, Oklahoma. He worked as a ranch hand as a young man, earning the nickname "Cowboy Bill." Blakley served with the United States Army in the First World War; he was admitted to the bar in 1933 and joined a law firm in Dallas, Texas. In following years, his interests expanded into real estate, ranch land, banking, and insurance; by 1957, he was estimated to be worth $300 million. Entry to politics In 1956, Allan Shivers opted not to run for a fourth term as Governor of Texas; Senator Price Daniel, as a sitting U.S. Senator, was elected Governor of Texas. Like Shivers and Daniel, Blakley was an "Eisenhower Democrat" who had supported Dwight Eisenhower over the national Democratic Party candidate Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956. Blakley, who had gained prominence in Texas politics for his business successes, was building a $125 million shopping center and a 1,000-room hotel in Dallas. Governor Shivers, who had been considering appointing a Republican candidate to the Senate seat, named Blakley to the Senate pending a special election. Pressured by the Democratic Party to cool tensions from the gubernatorial election, Blakley did not seek the remaining term as senator and served for fewer than four months, from January 15 to April 28. Ralph Yarborough succeeded him in the special election, winning with a plurality of the vote when the conservatives divided three ways, with Republican Thad Hutcheson of Houston and Democratic U.S. Representative Martin Dies, Jr., collectively holding 53 percent