Editing Bill Clements (section)

== Staging the 1986 comeback ==
{{Main|Texas gubernatorial election, 1986}}

In between his two terms as governor, Clements was chairman of the board of governors of [[Southern Methodist University]] in Dallas. He ran again in 1986 and won a contested GOP primary against [[U.S. Representative]] [[Thomas Loeffler]] of [[New Braunfels, Texas|New Braunfels]], the seat of [[Comal County, Texas|Comal County]], and former Democratic-turned-Republican Congressman [[Kent Hance]] of [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]]. In the fall, Clements unseated Governor White, who was hurt by the unpopularity of the "no pass/no play" policy involving high school athletics and proposed teacher competency testing. In gaining his second term, Clements polled 1,813,779 ballots (52.7 percent) to White's 1,584,512 (46.1 percent). Clements had turned the tables on White in a near mathematical reversal of the 1982 results and was inaugurated for a second nonconsecutive term on January 20, 1987, just after White came "struggling up to Clements in the Capitol rotunda" and extended a hand for a handshake with congratulations, and Clements simply shook it without comment and turned away.<ref>"Bill Clements, Texian to his toenails", Carolyn Barta, Eakin Press 1996, p. 336</ref>