Updated: Dallas Cowboys Politics

Updated:  Another season under a Republican Governor and the Cowboys missed going to the Super Bowl.

Maybe the Texas Democratic Party can target a new type of voter in future elections: Dallas Cowboys fans.
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First, a word analogy:

Dallas Cowboys is to Super Bowl as _____________ are to Texas.

A) Democrats
B) Republicans
C) Independents

For this analogy, the correct answer is A) Democrats.

Remember that Doritos commercial with former Governors Ann Richards and Mario Cuomo?  Piggy backing off that, I'm going to propose a radical theory: the Dallas Cowboys do better with a Democrat as Texas Governor.

Out of the 55 complete football seasons, the Cowboys had a winning season (i.e., won more games than lost) 34 times or 62%.  Of those 34 winning seasons, 20 occurred during Democratic Governors and 14 during Republican Governors...59% to 41%.  The 21 seasons where the Cowboys had a losing record, 7 happened during Democratic Governors and 14 during Republican Governors...33% to 67%.

Winning Season	Governor	Party
1966, '67, '68	John Connally	Democrat
1969, '70, '71, '72	Preston Smith	Democrat
1973, '74, '75, '76, '77, '78	Dolph Briscoe	Democrat
1979, '80, '81, '82	Bill Clements	Republican
1983, '84, '85	Mark White	Democrat
1991, '92, '93, '94	Ann Richards	Democrat
1995, '96, '98	George Bush	Republican
2003, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '14	Rick Perry	Republican

Out of 55 seasons, the Cowboys made the playoffs 31 times or 56%.  Of those 3 times, 18 happened during Democratic Governors and 13 during Republican Governors...58% to 42%.  Of the 24 times the Cowboys didn't make the playoffs, 9 happened during Democratic Governors and 15 during Republican Governors...37.5% to 62.5%.

Playoffs	Governor	Party
1966, '67, '68	John Connally	Democrat
1969, '70, '71, '72	Preston Smith	Democrat
1973, '75, '76, '77, '78	Dolph Briscoe	Democrat
1979, '80, '81, '82	Bill Clements	Republican
1983, '85	Mark White	Democrat
1991, '92, '93, '94	Ann Richards	Democrat
1995, '96, '98, '99	George Bush	Republican
2003, '06, '07, '09, '14	Rick Perry	Republican

Once the Cowboys get into the playoffs, what about making it to the Super Bowl?  To do that of course, they have to be Conference Champion.  The Cowboys have been Conference Champion 8 times (out of 31 playoff appearances), or 26%.  They've lost in the playoffs 23 times or 77%.  Of those 23 losses, 11 happened during Democratic Governors and 12 during Republican Governors...48% to 52% split.

Conference Champ	Governor	Party
1970, '71	Preston Smith	Democrat
1975, '77, '78	Dolph Briscoe	Democrat
1992, '93	Ann Richards	Democrat
1995	George Bush	Republican

Of those 8 Conference Championships (i.e., Super Bowl appearances), 7 occurred during Democratic Governors and 1 under a Republican Governor...87.5% to 12.5%.

Once they've gotten to the Super Bowl, the Cowboys have managed to win 5 and lose 3...62.5% to 37.5%.

Super Bowl Win	Super Bowl Loss	Governor	Party
1971	1970	Preston Smith	Democrat
1977	1975, '78	Dolph Briscoe	Democrat
1992, '93		Ann Richards	Democrat
1995		George Bush	Republican

Of those 5 wins, 4 occurred during Democratic Governors and 1 with a Republican Governor...80% to 20%.  Of the 3 losses, all happened while a Democrat was Governor.