The Democratic convention was held on May 2, 1859, in
Houston. It was bitterly divided over the issues of secession and the reopening of the slave trade. By the end of the convention the
Fire-Eaters had won out and Runnels was renominated by the party. On June 3, 1859, Houston listened to the advice of his friends, talked with Margaret and then announced (through a letter to George W. Paschal) that he would run for governor again.
Houston In contrast to his campaign in 1857, Houston did not travel the state extensively. In fact his entire campaign consisted of a couple letters and one campaign speech. Similar to 1857 his campaign was not financed nor organized. In his opening letter to George W. Paschal he stated that: He also wrote on July 2 to Ferdinand Flake (Editor of the
Galveston Union) that he was opposed to all "isms", which included the isms of
nullificantionism,
secessionism, and
disunionism and that he would rely upon the Constitution and Union in his governing. While purchasing sheep in
Nacogdoches on July 9, he was prompted by some citizens to give a speech and in it he described himself as a "Democrat of the
Old School and an Old Fogy in politics". And clarified that it was not politicians who convinced him to run but "the honest yeomanry of the country". He reminded voters that since his vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Act many in the south had declared that the bill was a deception from the beginning. In addition to these speeches and letters, throughout the campaign Houston would clarify to those writing him his positions on certain issues. For example, he supported the expansion of education saying that the
legislature should make education "as free as possible, then...let [it] be accessible to the young men of the country." He had also come out in favor of granting public land to railroad companies. For the rest of the election he remained at home in
Independence, and refrained from further campaigning.
Runnels Runnels had been the only person to defeat Sam Houston in a political campaign, in the previous election on a fire-eating Democratic ticket. During this election, Runnels was criticized for the inadequate protection of the frontier, Runnels’ wishes to see the slave trade reopened, and his preference for secession. His party was split on these divisive issues and the statewide Democratic convention was bitterly divided but ultimately renominated him.
Indian attacks, the border raids of
Juan Cortina, and sectional factionalism were likely factors which lead to Runnels defeat in 1859 in addition to Houston's own personal popularity. ==General election==