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Bob Krueger
Robert Charles Krueger (September 19, 1935 – April 30, 2022) was an American diplomat, politician, and U.S. representative and U.S. senator from Texas, a U.S. ambassador, and a member of the Democratic Party. As of 2026[update], he is the last Democrat to serve as a United States senator from Texas.
Robert Charles Krueger was born in New Braunfels, Texas, the son of Faye (Leifeste) and Arlon E. Krueger. Krueger earned a B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1957 and an M.A. from Duke University in 1958. He attended Merton College, Oxford, where he graduated with a D.Phil. in English literature. His thesis was entitled The Poems of William Herbert, Third Earl of Pembroke. He taught English literature as a professor and was later vice provost and Dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. His edition of the poems of Sir John Davies was published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford, in 1975. Krueger held business positions as chairman of the board of Comal Hosiery Mills and managing partner of the Krueger Brangus Ranch before entering elective office.
Krueger was elected to the 94th and 95th United States Congresses, serving from January 3, 1975, to January 3, 1979. Krueger was initially elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Texas's 21st congressional district, then the largest congressional district in Texas, stretching from northern San Antonio to Big Bend National Park in far west Texas.
In the general election, Krueger defeated Republican Doug Harlan of San Antonio, who had run a surprisingly close race against longtime incumbent Democrat O.C. Fisher in 1972 despite spending almost no money. Krueger won by an even closer margin despite setting a record for spending in a congressional race at the time. Meanwhile, Harlan, as he had two years before, campaigned on a shoestring.
Coincidentally, Harlan like Krueger had obtained a master's degree from Duke University. He then received a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and became heavily involved in Republican Party consulting work.
Krueger was part of the large "Watergate Class" of 1974, many of whom were Democrats who owed their election to the scandal that brought the resignation of President Richard Nixon three months before the election. Krueger was reelected for a second House term in 1976 along with the election of Jimmy Carter as president. Krueger challenged incumbent Republican John Tower in 1978 for a U.S. Senate seat from Texas, but Krueger narrowly lost the contest by 0.3%.
In 1984, he ran again for the U.S. Senate. Tower decided to retire but Krueger lost in the Democratic primary, caught in the middle between the more liberal State Senator Lloyd Doggett and the more conservative U.S. Representative Kent Hance. In 2010, Krueger's campaign was named by the Houston Chronicle as the ninth-worst in Texas' modern political history, saying: "Caught in the middle, Krueger seemed like a bland centrist facing a fiery liberal and a folksy conservative. He ended up finishing third, out of the runoff and out of luck." From 1985 to 1989, he also wrote a regular column on a broad range of public affairs issues, which was carried in newspapers in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Corpus Christi, Texas.[citation needed]
In 1990, Krueger returned to elective office in Texas, serving on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulated oil and gas as well as the rail system in the state. In his candidacy, Krueger received the most votes of any contested candidate on the primary ballot of either major party and defeated his general election opponent by a 16 percent margin.[citation needed]
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Bob Krueger
Robert Charles Krueger (September 19, 1935 – April 30, 2022) was an American diplomat, politician, and U.S. representative and U.S. senator from Texas, a U.S. ambassador, and a member of the Democratic Party. As of 2026[update], he is the last Democrat to serve as a United States senator from Texas.
Robert Charles Krueger was born in New Braunfels, Texas, the son of Faye (Leifeste) and Arlon E. Krueger. Krueger earned a B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1957 and an M.A. from Duke University in 1958. He attended Merton College, Oxford, where he graduated with a D.Phil. in English literature. His thesis was entitled The Poems of William Herbert, Third Earl of Pembroke. He taught English literature as a professor and was later vice provost and Dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. His edition of the poems of Sir John Davies was published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford, in 1975. Krueger held business positions as chairman of the board of Comal Hosiery Mills and managing partner of the Krueger Brangus Ranch before entering elective office.
Krueger was elected to the 94th and 95th United States Congresses, serving from January 3, 1975, to January 3, 1979. Krueger was initially elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Texas's 21st congressional district, then the largest congressional district in Texas, stretching from northern San Antonio to Big Bend National Park in far west Texas.
In the general election, Krueger defeated Republican Doug Harlan of San Antonio, who had run a surprisingly close race against longtime incumbent Democrat O.C. Fisher in 1972 despite spending almost no money. Krueger won by an even closer margin despite setting a record for spending in a congressional race at the time. Meanwhile, Harlan, as he had two years before, campaigned on a shoestring.
Coincidentally, Harlan like Krueger had obtained a master's degree from Duke University. He then received a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and became heavily involved in Republican Party consulting work.
Krueger was part of the large "Watergate Class" of 1974, many of whom were Democrats who owed their election to the scandal that brought the resignation of President Richard Nixon three months before the election. Krueger was reelected for a second House term in 1976 along with the election of Jimmy Carter as president. Krueger challenged incumbent Republican John Tower in 1978 for a U.S. Senate seat from Texas, but Krueger narrowly lost the contest by 0.3%.
In 1984, he ran again for the U.S. Senate. Tower decided to retire but Krueger lost in the Democratic primary, caught in the middle between the more liberal State Senator Lloyd Doggett and the more conservative U.S. Representative Kent Hance. In 2010, Krueger's campaign was named by the Houston Chronicle as the ninth-worst in Texas' modern political history, saying: "Caught in the middle, Krueger seemed like a bland centrist facing a fiery liberal and a folksy conservative. He ended up finishing third, out of the runoff and out of luck." From 1985 to 1989, he also wrote a regular column on a broad range of public affairs issues, which was carried in newspapers in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Corpus Christi, Texas.[citation needed]
In 1990, Krueger returned to elective office in Texas, serving on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulated oil and gas as well as the rail system in the state. In his candidacy, Krueger received the most votes of any contested candidate on the primary ballot of either major party and defeated his general election opponent by a 16 percent margin.[citation needed]