Victor M. Morales (born November 15, 1949) is an American teacher who was the Democratic Party's nominee for the 1996 United States Senate election in Texas in 1996.
Morales was a 46-year-old Vietnam War veteran and civics teacher at Poteet High School in Mesquite, Texas when his students dared him to run for Senate and he did.
His only previous political experience was a two-year term on the City Council of his hometown of Crandall, Texas.
Many political observers thought he benefitted from having the same last name as Dan Morales, the Texas Attorney General, and that voters confused the two of them.
[3] He became the first minority candidate in Texas history to become a United States Senate nominee from either major party.