United States House of Representatives
In 1976, Gramm unsuccessfully challenged Texas Democratic Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, in the party's senatorial primary. Then in 1978 Gramm successfully ran as a Democrat for Representative from Texas's 6th congressional district, which stretched from the Fort Worth suburbs to College Station. He was reelected to his House seat as a Democrat in 1980.
In 1981, he co-sponsored the Gramm-Latta Budget which implemented President Ronald Reagan's economic program, increased military spending, cut other spending, and mandated the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (the Kemp-Roth Tax Cut).
Just days after being reelected in 1982, Gramm was thrown off the House Budget Committee for supporting Reagan's tax cuts. In response, Gramm resigned his House seat on January 5, 1983. He then ran as a Republican for his own vacancy in a special election held on February 12, 1983, and won rather handily. One of his many special election opponents was the second-place finisher by only 115 votes in his 1978 Democratic Party primary, the then newly-elected State Senator Chet Edwards of Waco, and later U.S. Representative for the 11th and the 17th congressional districts of Texas (January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2011). Another special election opponent was Texas State Representative Dan Kubiak of Rockdale, Texas. Gramm became the first Republican to represent the district since its creation in 1846.
After he left the House the seat was retained for the Republican party by Joe Barton.
Read more about this topic: Phil Gramm
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