Question: Who was the first woman elected to statewide office in Texas?
Answer: Annie Webb Blanton. Born in 1870 in Houston, she became a teacher after graduating from high school and graduated from the University of Texas in 1899. Blanton became active in the Texas State Teachers Association while teaching in the English department at North Texas State Normal College (now the University of North Texas), and she was elected its president in 1916. Women gained the right to vote in state primaries during a special session called by Gov. William P. Hobby in 1918, and few months later, Blanton defeated the incumbent superintendent of public instruction in the Democratic primary. She won the general election in November, making her the first woman election to a statewide office in Texas.
