Ray Hutchison (attorney)

Ray Hutchison
Texas State Representative from District 33-Q in Dallas County
In office 1973–1977
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Lee Jackson
State Chairman of the Texas Republican Party
In office 1976–1977
Succeeded by	Ray Barnhart
Personal details
Born	Elton Ray Hutchison (1932-09-16)September 16, 1932
Died	March 30, 2014(2014-03-30) (aged 81) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Resting place	Texas State Cemetery in Austin
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	(1) Mary Eleanor Fogelman Hutchison (2) Kay Bailey Hutchison
Children	4
Residence(s)	Dallas, Texas
Alma mater	Southern Methodist University
Occupation	Attorney Senior Counsel with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1952–1954
Battles/wars	Korean War

Elton Ray Hutchison (September 16, 1932 – March 30, 2014), was an American attorney in Dallas, Texas, who served as a Republican in the Texas House of Representatives from District 33-Q in Dallas County from 1973 to 1977^[1] and as the chairman of the Texas Republican Party from 1976 to 1977. He was the second husband of Republican former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.

In 1957, Hutchison graduated with honors from Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas. In 1959, he obtained his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the same institution.

Hutchison was senior counsel with the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani.^[2] His principal area of practice was public finance.

The 1978 gubernatorial primary[]

In 1976, Hutchison became chairman of the Texas Republican Party, but he left the nonsalaried position in 1977 to pursue his gubernatorial campaign. In the spring of 1978, he lost his party's nomination to Bill Clements, an industrialist also from Dallas, by a lopsided vote of 115,345, 72.8 percent to 38,268, 24.2 percent. Another 4,790 votes or 3 percent went to Charles Thompson. Clements went on to win narrowly the general election by defeating the Democrat John Luke Hill and hence became the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction.

Personal life[]

Hutchison met his wife, then known as Kay Bailey, when both were state legislators, he from Dallas and she from Houston. Hutchison resided with his wife in Dallas. They adopted two infant children in 2001, a son and a daughter. Both Hutchisons had been previously married. Ray Hutchison has grown children from his first marriage. The couple also owned a home in Nacogdoches, Texas. Hutchison died on March 30, 2014, in Dallas.^[2]

References[]