Local Collections

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Waco was the site of Texas's first Democratic Convention in 1857. Since 1873, Waco Democrats have served in influential positions throughout state and national politics. The party maintained dominance in the local area for much of the twentieth century.

After Dr. Walter William resigned as McLennan County Democratic Chairman in 1979, the Executive Committee appointed Gene Evans to serve the remainder of William's term until 1980. Evans ultimately served as Chair until the fall of 1988 when his term expired. After his tenure, Evans donated various party records to the W. R. Poage Legislative Library.

Four of the most significant changes that impacted the McLennan County Democratic Party while Evans was chair were the discontinuation of voting by paper ballot, the election of the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction, redistricting, and presidential primaries. It is noteworthy that McLennan County was one of the last Texas counties to discontinue the use of a paper ballot.

The Collection

The McLennan County Democratic Party records cover a broad portion of the twentieth century, from 1922 to 1992. The majority of the materials span the chairmanships of Walter William and Gene Evans, focusing particularly on the 1970's.

Series I. Democratic Executive Committee and Series II. Election Materials are the largest series in the collection. The records address a variety of local issues, including the discontinuation of paper ballots, redistricting, and presidential primaries. There is a wide range of materials in the collection including correspondence, financial reports, ballot results, newspaper clippings, and minutes.

The collection consists of records measuring 3 linear ft.

Mike Morrison is a Baylor University law professor that served as mayor of Waco, Texas from 1996 until 2000. He began donating his papers to the Baylor Collections of Political Materials in the summer of 1996. The papers are his personal copies of materials related to the operation of the Office of Mayor.

The collection consists of papers and measures 95.35 linear ft.