RARE! "Texas Senator" Bob Krueger Hand Signed FDC Dated 1945 Todd Mueller COA

Description

Up for auction a RARE!
"Texas Senator" Bob Krueger Hand Signed First Day Cover Dated 1945.
This item is certified authentic by
Todd Mueller Autographs
and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-7248E
Robert Charles Krueger
(born September 19, 1935) is an American diplomat, politician, and former
U.S. Representative
and
U.S. Senator
from Texas, a former
U.S. Ambassador
, and a member of the
Democratic Party
. As of 2021, he is the last Democrat to serve as a United States Senator from Texas. Born in
New Braunfels, Texas
, Krueger earned a B.A. from
Southern Methodist University
in 1957 and an
M.A.
from
Duke University
in 1958. He went to
Merton College, Oxford
, earning a D.Phil. in English literature with a thesis entitled
The poems of William Herbert, Third Earl of Pembroke
. He taught English literature as a professor and was later vice provost and Dean of the
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
at
Duke University
. His edition of the poems of Sir John Davies was published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford, in 1975. Krueger held business positions as chairman of the board of Comal Hosiery Mills and managing partner of the Krueger Brangus Ranch before entering elective office. Krueger was elected to the 94th and 95th United States Congresses, serving from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1979. Krueger was initially elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives
to represent
Texas's 21st congressional district
, then the largest congressional district in Texas, stretching from northern
San Antonio
to
Big Bend National Park
in far west Texas. In the
general election
, Krueger defeated
Republican
Doug Harlan
of San Antonio, who had also run unsuccessfully against Fisher in 1972. Coincidentally, Harlan like Krueger had obtained a master's degree from Duke University. He then received a law degree from the
University of Texas School of Law
and became heavily involved in Republican Party consulting work.
[2]
Krueger was part of the large "Watergate Class" of 1974, many of whom were Democrats who owed their election to the scandal that brought the resignation of President
Richard Nixon
three months before the election. Krueger was reelected for a second House term in 1976 along with the election of
Jimmy Carter
as president. Krueger challenged incumbent Republican
John Tower
in
1978
for a U.S. Senate seat from Texas, but Krueger narrowly lost the contest by 0.3%. In
1984
, he ran again for the U.S. Senate. Tower decided to retire but Krueger lost in the Democratic primary, caught in the middle between the more liberal State Senator
Lloyd Doggett
and the more conservative U.S. Representative
Kent Hance
. In 2010, Krueger's campaign was named by the
Houston Chronicle
as the ninth-worst in Texas' modern political history, saying: "Caught in the middle, Krueger seemed like a bland centrist facing a fiery liberal and a folksy conservative. He ended up finishing third, out of the runoff and out of luck." From 1985 to 1989, he also wrote a regular column on a broad range of public affairs issues, which was carried in newspapers in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Corpus Christi, Texas.
In 1990, Krueger returned to elective office in Texas, serving on the
Texas Railroad Commission
, which regulated oil and gas as well as the rail system in the state. In his candidacy, Krueger received the most votes of any contested candidate on the primary ballot of either major party and defeated his general election opponent by a 16 percent margin.
He was appointed by Governor
Ann Richards
in 1993 to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of four-term incumbent and
1988
Democratic
Vice Presidential
nominee
Lloyd Bentsen
, who became
Secretary of the Treasury
in President
Clinton
's cabinet. He served from January 21, 1993 until June 14, 1993. He lost the
June 1993 special election runoff
for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 1995 by a 2-to-1 margin to the popular
Texas State Treasurer
, Republican
Kay Bailey Hutchison
. In 2010, Krueger's campaign was named by the same
Houston Chronicle
article as the single worst in Texas' modern political history.
[4]
Reasons cited for the defeat included Krueger's flip-flopping over
don't ask, don't tell
and also Bill Clinton's proposed
BTU tax
, which was unpopular in Texas.