Although raised as a Southern Democrat , Tower became a Republican in college about 1951 . He rose quickly through the ranks of the Texas Republican Party ; he was an unsuccessful candidate for representative to the Texas House of Representatives for the 81st district in 1954 . He was a delegate to the 1956 Republican National Convention . In the 1956 presidential election , he was the campaign manager for Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 23rd Senatorial District . In 1960 , he was chosen by the state convention held in McAllen in Hidalgo County in south Texas , as the Republican candidate for the United States Senate against Lyndon Johnson . Two other Republicans mentioned for the senatorial nomination , Thad Hutcheson , who had sought Texas 's other Senate seat in a special election in 1957 , and Bruce Alger , the only Republican congressman from Texas at the time , were both uninterested
1956 Republican National Convention
1956 Republican National Convention
John Tower