Joseph Peyton Wyatt Jr. (October 12, 1941 – April 4, 2022) served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Biography

Born in

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a city and the county seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria, Texas metropolitan area, Victoria Metropolitan Statis ...

, Wyatt attended the Victoria County public schools. He attended Victoria College, 1964. B.A.,

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, 1968. Graduate work,

University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is ...

, 1970. Wyatt served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Reserve from 1966 to 1970. He served on the staffs of Texas State Senator William Neff "Bill" Patman,

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Clark W. Thompson, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Auditor, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission,

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. Wyatt served as director of community affairs, private firm,

. He served as member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from 1971 to 1979. Wyatt served on the Southern Legislative Conference and

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials' association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

. He served as delegate, Texas State Democratic conventions from 1968 to 1978, and as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1964. Wyatt was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Ninety-sixth Congress (January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981). Wyatt served as special projects consultant. He was a resident of

. Wyatt died on April 4, 2022. He ran for his former seat in 1982 as a Republican, but was defeated. The New York Times reported rumors that Wyatt had been involved in a homosexual scandal, charges which Patman used against him during the campaign.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Joseph Peyton Jr. 1941 births 2022 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Victoria, Texas Texas Republicans United States Marine Corps reservists 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives