1974Final results
1974 Democratic primary for Texas House District 48
Texas House of Representatives · Texas
Joe Salem (D) won with 27.8% of the vote, defeating Gerald Smith (D) by 16.6 points.
Joe SalemDemocrat · winner · incumbent
27.8%24,395
L. Dewitt HaleDemocrat · winner
24.3%21,342
Carlos TruanDemocrat · winner · incumbent
21.2%18,652
Gerald SmithDemocrat
11.2%9,798
Brad ColemanDemocrat
7.8%6,807
Ernest L. BohannonDemocrat
6.9%6,056
Emanuel P. SaldanaDemocrat
0.9%775
87,825 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Joe Salem (D)L. Dewitt Hale (D)Carlos Truan (D)Gerald Smith (D)Brad Coleman (D)Ernest L. Bohannon (D)
Also on the ballot: Emanuel P. Saldana (Democrat), 0.9%