Jim Mattox

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Jim Mattox was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Texas. Born in Dallas on August 29, 1943, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas’s 5th district from 1977 to 1983. He then served as Texas Attorney General from 1983 to 1991. Mattox was known as a liberal Democrat who aggressively challenged corporate power.

In 1983 he was indicted for commercial bribery in a case connected to campaign financing, but he was acquitted after a lengthy trial. He remained a prominent figure in Texas politics and was inducted into the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame in 1989.

In 1990, Mattox sought the Democratic nomination for governor. He forced a runoff with Ann Richards, but Richards won the nomination and the general election. In 1994, Mattox ran for the U.S. Senate but lost the Democratic nomination to Richard W. Fisher, who was later defeated by Kay Bailey Hutchison in the general election. Mattox made another bid for Texas Attorney General in 1998 but was defeated by Republican John Cornyn, who became the state’s first Republican attorney general.

Five days before his death, Mattox testified against the Texas Two-Step, a system for awarding presidential delegates, calling it expensive, confusing, and unfair.

Jim Mattox died on November 20, 2008, in Dripping Springs, Texas, at age 65 from a heart attack. He is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. He was survived by his wife, Marta Jan Karpan, and two children. He attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Baylor University (BA), and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law (JD).