Difference between revisions 794516581 and 796956028 on enwiki

{{Infobox Congressman
| name = Eldon Beau Boulter
|image =Beau Boulter.jpg
|image_size=200px
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|2|23}}
| birth_place =[[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]], [[Texas]], [[United States|USA]]
| state = [[Texas]]
| district = [[Texas's 13th congressional district|13th]]
| term_start = January 3, 1985
| term_end   =January 3, 1989
| preceded = [[Jack Hightower]] 
| succeeded =[[Bill Sarpalius]]
| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse =Rosemary R. Boulter
| children=Rebecca, Matthew, and Elizabeth
| religion = 
| occupation= [[Lawyer|Attorney]], [[Lobbyist]]
| residence=(1) [[Falls Church, Virginia|Falls Church]], [[Virginia (U.S. state)|Virginia]]
(2) [[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]], Texas
| alma_mater= Levelland High School<br>
[[University of Texas at Austin]]<br>
[[Baylor Law School]]
|footnotes= 
}}

'''Eldon Beau Boulter''' (born February 23, 1942) is a [[Washington, D.C.]]-based [[lobbyist]] who was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[U.S. representative]] from [[Texas]] between 1985 and 1989. 

Boulter was born in [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]], Texas. He graduated in 1960 from [[Levelland High School]] in [[Levelland, Texas|Levelland]], the seat of [[in [[Hockley County, Texas|Hockley County]], near [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]]. In 1965, he graduated from the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]] at [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], and in 1968, he earned his law degree from [[Baylor Law School]] in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], Texas. He was thereafter admitted to the bar and practiced law in [[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]]. From 1981 to 1983, he was a member of the Amarillo City Commission.

In 1982, Boulter lost the Republican primary for the 13th district, which stretches from Amarillo to [[Wichita Falls]] and embraces the [[Texas Panhandle]]. He won the nomination in 1984, however, and defeated incumbent congressional seat. Two years later, he unseated [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] U.S. Representative [[Jack Hightower]] in the [[general election]]. He was helped by [[Ronald W. Reagan]]'s massive landslide that year; Reagan won most of the counties in this district by margins of 2-to-1 or greater. Although the 13th District had become increasingly Republican at the national level, Boulter's win is still regarded as an upset. He was one of six freshmen Republican congressmen elected from Texas in 1984; they were collectively called the [[Texas Six Pack]].

==Running for the Senate, 1988==
{{also|United States Senate election in Texas, 1988}}
Boulter was convincingly reelected in 1986, and was thought to be all but invincible in his district. It therefore came a surprise when he announced he would give up his seat after only two terms to challenge three-term Democratic [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Lloyd M. Bentsen]].

Some of Boulter's staunchest supporters were dismayed that he would surrender a seemingly "safe" House seat for the vagaries of challenging the popular and entrenched Bentsen. After all, Bentsen had already defeated three sitting Republican congressmen from presumably "safe" districts: [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] in 1970, [[Alan Steelman]] of [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] in 1976, and [[James M. Collins]] of Dallas in 1982. He'd won the latter two races fairly handily, taking more than 55 percent of the vote each time. Geography also was against Boulter as well; no one from west of [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]] has ever represented Texas in the U.S. Senate. An Amarillo lawyer, however, does serve on the [[Texas Supreme Court]].

Meanwhile, Boulter had difficulty winning the Republican Senate nomination. In the primary, he trailed Houston businessman Wes Gilbreath, a friend of the Bushes. Boulter's 228,676 votes (30.5 percent) were nearly 50,000 below the 275,080 ballots (36.7 percent) received by Gilbreath. In the low-turnout runoff, Boulter prevailed with 111,134 ballots (60.2 percent) to Gilbreath's 73,573 (39.8 percent). The primary totals were a harbinger that Boulter might be yet another weak Republican candidate attempting to unseat Bentsen, who despite a generally [[Liberalism|liberal]] voting record in the U.S. Senate was perceived by most voters as "moderate" to "[[Conservative (politics)|conservative]]". 

Boulter tried to make an issue of Bentsen's use of the "Johnson Law," which allowed the senator to run for vice president while also seeking reelection to the Senate. Boulter took the [[pro-life]] position in the campaign, whereas Bentsen supported a woman's right to procure an [[abortion]]. Boulter polled 2,129,228 (40 percent) to Bentsen's 3,149,806 (60 percent). Bentsen's raw vote was the highest numerically ever obtained by a statewide Democratic candidate in Texa(contracted; show full)lobbying firm in Washington called Beau Boulter, LLC. Boulter's clients have included the [[United Seniors Association]], an organization associated with the late entertainer [[Art Linkletter]], but with ties to [[Jack Abramoff]] and CapitolWatch, a taxpayers lobby that Boulter chaired in the late 1980s. Boulter and his wife, Rosemary R. Boulter (born 1943), live in [[Falls Church, Virginia|Falls Church]], [[Virginia (U.S. state)|Virginia]]. They have three children: Rebecca, Matthew, and Elizabeth.


{{Portalbar|Biography|Law|Politics|Conservatism}}⏎
⏎
== External links ==
* http://www.infoplease.com/biography/us/congress/boulter-eldon-beau.html
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090217065723/http://boulter.com/boulter/people.html
* http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000666
* https://web.archive.org/web/20061108172637/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe
*''Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections''
*{{C-SPAN|eboulter}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{USRepSuccessionBox
|  state=Texas
|  district=13
|  before=[[Jack Hightower]]
|  after= [[Bill Sarpalius]]
|  years=1985–1989
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulter, Beau}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:People from El Paso, Texas]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas]]
[[Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni]]
[[Category:Baylor Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Texas lawyers]]
[[Category:American lobbyists]]
[[Category:People from Amarillo, Texas]]
[[Category:Texas Republicans]]
[[Category:People from Hockley County, Texas]]
[[Category:Politicians from Falls Church, Virginia]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives]]