The Texas Six Pack was a group of six freshmen
Republican congressmen from
Texas who were elected during the
1984Ronald Reaganlandslide victory over
Walter Mondale. With their victories the Texas congressional delegation shifted from a 21-6 Democratic advantage to only 17–10.
Four of the six new congressmen would go on to long and powerful careers in Washington.
Beau Boulter,
Mac Sweeney and
Dick Armey upset three incumbent Democratic congressmen.
Larry Combest won an open seat being vacated by retiring Democrat, later Republican
Kent Hance, while
Joe Barton and
Tom DeLay won seats vacated by retiring Republicans
Phil Gramm and
Ron Paul, respectively. For Sweeney, Combest, and Armey it was the first time their districts had ever elected a Republican to congress. In 1988; Boulter relinquished his seat after two terms to wage an unsuccessful race against
U.S. SenatorLloyd M. Bentsen, who ran the same year for
Vice President of the United States; while Sweeney was defeated in his bid for re-election by
Greg Laughlin.