Hightower was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election held in 1961 . While still living in Vernon , Hightower served from 1965 to 1974 in two reconfigured districts in the Texas Senate . He was a delegate to the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention , which met in Chicago to nominate Vice President of the United States Hubert H. Humphrey for the presidency . That fall , Humphrey narrowly carried Texas over the Republican Richard M. Nixon and the American Independent Party nominee George Wallace of Alabama
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
Jack Hightower