Texas cattlemen have long been involved in state politics, and Briscoe embodies that tradition. He served in the Texas Legislature from 1949 to 1957, and served as governor from 1973 to 1979. During his six years as governor, Briscoe kept his promise of no new taxes, the first and last administration to hold the line on taxes since World War II.
In 1949, he passed legislation to establish the farm-to-market road program that helped develop rural Texas. In 1960, as president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers' Association, he headed a group that raised $3 million in contributions to encourage the federal and state governments to launch a screwworm eradication program in Texas and the Southwest, a program considered by ranchers to be the most important development in the industry.
The Briscoe family settled in Texas in what is now Fort Bend County in 1832. Andrew Briscoe signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, led a company of volunteers in the Battle of San Jacinto, and was appointed the first judge of Harris County by Sam Houston. Briscoe's father, Dolph, Sr., moved his family to Uvalde in 1910 and established the family's cattle business.
Upon his father's death, Dolph became the operator of one of the foremost ranches in Texas. By 1972 he was the state's largest individual landowner. Still active in all phases of cattle ranching, he is an elder statesman of politics and quintessential Texan.