Following the 1960 presidential election, a special election was held to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. This telecast from May 1961 promotes the candidacy of Jim Wright, who was then serving in the United States House of Representatives from Texas’ 12th congressional district. The election drew a field of 71 potential candidates, with Republican John G. Tower narrowly defeating interim appointee and Democrat William Blakely in a runoff election. (As a result, Tower became the first Republican senator from Texas since Reconstruction.) Wright finished in third place.

T.J. Paterson was born in Waxahachie, Texas and grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. He went to Bishop College in Marshall, Texas and majored in physical education. He then moved to Lubbock to work for a private school. Upon meeting and marrying his wife, he stayed in Lubbock. Patterson was the first African American elected to the Lubbock City Council and served in that role for two decades.