91-Year-Old Rep. Hall Ousted In Texas GOP Primary
ROCKWALL (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The 91-year-old Texas Republican who is the oldest-ever member of the U.S. House has been ousted in a primary runoff.
Little-known Republican primary challenger John Ratcliffe defeated Rep. Ralph Hall in the first runoff he'd ever faced.
Hall, who once had a brush with the notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde, first came to Congress in 1980.
He asked voters in his northeastern Texas district to elect him for an 18th term, promising it would be his last. In the March election Hall won 45-percent of the vote, five points shy of what he needed to become nominee. Ratcliffe won nearly 29 percent of the vote.
Backed by national conservative groups, the 48-year-old Ratcliffe used modern analytics to better target voters.
Hall countered with a traditional campaigning style, though he too was endorsed by some top tea party activists.
No Democrat is running, ensuring Ratcliffe will win in November.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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