He died in his sleep on Thursday at the age of 65. I've heard no details on the cause of his death.He was, unabashedly, a liberal Democrat in a state where sightings of the species are few and far between.
In 1990, he lost a colorful yet bitter battle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Ann Richards, less than two years after her phenomenally well-received keynote address to the 1988 national convention.
It was truly a clash of the titans in Texas Democratic politics. And, in hindsight, perhaps it was an omen of things to come — like the battles one often sees in nature when the two most powerful members of a dying breed lock horns in an epic fight for temporary supremacy.
Ten years ago, Mattox lost his last bid for elected office. He sought the office he once held — state attorney general — losing to Republican John Cornyn.
As fate would have it, Cornyn was just re-elected to the U.S. Senate a couple of weeks ago.
With Mattox's passing, it now appears that the last of the old guard among Texas Democrats has faded into history. If the party is to become competitive on a statewide basis, it will have to do so with a new generation of leaders.
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