The Pittsburgh Press (August 28, 1944)
Veteran Texan beaten in runoff
Dallas, Texas (UP) –
The number of newcomers in the 21-member Texas Congressional delegation was boosted to three today when unofficial returns showed that Rep. Nat Patton, a veteran of five terms, was defeated by Tom Pickett, 38, District Attorney of Palestine, in Saturday’s Democratic runoff primary election.
Unofficial returns from all of the 7th district’s 12 counties, eight of them complete, gave Mr. Pickett more than a 4,000-vote lead over Mr. Patton. The count showed 20,054 votes for Mr. Pickett and 15,514 for Mr. Patton.
“Democracy has spoken,” Mr. Patton said when it became apparent that he was defeated. “I must yield to its will.”
Other newcomers in the Texas Congressional delegation are Maj. John E. Lyle, now on duty in Italy, who defeated Rep. Richard Kleberg last month, and Judge J. L. Combs of Beaumont, who was elected to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Martin Dies, chairman of the Committee on Un-American Activities.