Changes

On January 21, 1969, the day after the swearing-in of [[U.S. President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]] to his first term, Smith took the oath of office. His ceremony, replete with the Texas Tech band, was the first to have been televised in Texas history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/lnb100/2017-01-27/1969-smith-s-inaugural-celebration-have-flavor-south-plains|title=1969: Smith's inaugural celebration to have flavor of South Plains|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=January 27, 2017|accessdate=April 3, 2017}}</ref>

On January 21, 1969, the day after the swearing-in of [[U.S. President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]] to his first term, Smith took the oath of office. His ceremony, replete with the Texas Tech band, was the first to have been televised in Texas history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/lnb100/2017-01-27/1969-smith-s-inaugural-celebration-have-flavor-south-plains|title=1969: Smith's inaugural celebration to have flavor of South Plains|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=January 27, 2017|accessdate=April 3, 2017}}</ref>

To claim the governorship, Smith twice defeated Republican nominee] Paul William Eggers, a tax [[attorney]] from [[Wichita Falls]] and later [[Dallas]] as well as a confidant of Senator Tower. In the high-turnout general election of 1968, Smith received 1,662,019 ballots (57 percent) to Eggers' 1,254,333 (43 percent). In the low-turnout general election of 1970, Smith received 1,197,726 votes (53.6 percent) to Eggers' 1,037,723 (46.4 percent).  

To claim the governorship, Smith twice defeated Republican nominee Paul William Eggers, a tax [[attorney]] from [[Wichita Falls]] and later [[Dallas]] as well as a confidant of Senator Tower. In the high-turnout general election of 1968, Smith received 1,662,019 ballots (57 percent) to Eggers' 1,254,333 (43 percent). In the low-turnout general election of 1970, Smith received 1,197,726 votes (53.6 percent) to Eggers' 1,037,723 (46.4 percent).  

In 1971 and 1972, Smith was caught up in the Sharpstown bank stock fraud scheme, which may have caused him to lose his bid for re-nomination in the 1972 Democratic primary. He lost the nomination to Dolph Briscoe, who then defeated a strong Republican challenger, [[Henry C. Grover]], an intra-party rival of John Tower, who nevertheless won his own third term in the Senate that year. In 1978, Smith again lost a bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, as did Governor Briscoe. Instead John Luke Hill defeated them both but then lost the [[general election]] to Republican [[Bill Clements]].

In 1971 and 1972, Smith was caught up in the Sharpstown bank stock fraud scheme, which may have caused him to lose his bid for re-nomination in the 1972 Democratic primary. He lost the nomination to Dolph Briscoe, who then defeated a strong Republican challenger, [[Henry C. Grover]], an intra-party rival of John Tower, who nevertheless won his own third term in the Senate that year. In 1978, Smith again lost a bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, as did Governor Briscoe. Instead John Luke Hill defeated them both but then lost the [[general election]] to Republican [[Bill Clements]].