(1929-1939) In 1928 after a search to find a candidate for the state legislature in their district to advocate for ranchers' interests proved unsuccessful, Stevenson allowed his name to be offered in nomination. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a conservative Democrat, and served there from 1929 until 1939. As a freshman lawmaker Stevenson introduced and saw passed a bill establishing the office of State Auditor to keep track of State expenditures, marking the beginning of a long state political career focused on economy in government spending. In Stevenson's second term in the state Legislature he led a successful fight against governor Ross S. Sterling's proposal to issue $100,000,000 in road bonds to complete the state highway system. In 1933, he was elected Speaker of the House; he was re-elected in 1935, becoming the first person in Texas history to serve two consecutive terms as Speaker. In 1938, after five terms in the House, Stevenson ran for lieutenant governor. In his race for the Democratic nomination, the decisive race in the Democratic-controlled state, Stevenson offered no formal platform and eschewed the political fanfare that other candidates embraced. For this reason many questioned his ability to win the election. Stevenson would come in second place out of six candidates, forcing a runoff with Pierce Brooks of Dallas. Stevenson continued his original strategy that he described as running on "principles not promises" and, when the final results were in, he had won the election 446,441 votes to 400,444 votes. As Lieutenant Governor Stevenson served under Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel. 35th Governor of Texas (1941-1947) Stevenson succeeded to the governorship on August 4, 1941, when Governor O'Daniel resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, which he won in a special election against Lyndon B. Johnson. In dramatic contrast to the flamboyant and unpredictable O'Daniel, Stevenson's approach was so conservative and taciturn that his critics accused him of doing nothing. In 1942, Stevenson ran for his first full term as governor of Texas. In the 1942 Texas gubernatorial election Stevenson faced only one serious challenger in the Democratic primary, Hal H. Collins. Although Collins received the tacit endorsement of the extremely popular former Governor O'Daniel, Stevenson would go on to win the nomination with 68% of the vote. Two years later in the 1944 Texas gubernatorial election Stevenson would win the Democratic primary with over 84% of