Thaddeus Thomson Hutcheson (October 29, 1915 – August 3, 1986), was a Republican attorney in his native Houston, who was an early figure in the movement to establish a competitive two-party system in the U.S. state of Texas.
Senator Price Daniel vacated his seat to become governor of Texas, Hutcheson was the Republican candidate in the special election to choose a successor.
Victory in the Senate election went to Daniel's gubernatorial primary runoff opponent, Ralph Yarborough, the Democrat who received 38 percent of the ballots cast.
John Tower, a Republican political science instructor at Midwestern State University In Wichita Falls, entered the special election.
[6] Ironically, Blakley, a wealthy Dallas businessman, had held the Daniel Senate vacancy for three months in 1957 but did not run for the position at that time.
Since Tower retired from the Senate in January 1985, his former seat has remained continuously in Republican hands, a testimony to Hutcheson's vision for his party from decades past.