In 1961, Mattox graduated in Dallas from Woodrow Wilson High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1965 from Baylor University in Waco and his Juris Doctor degree from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.\n', '

Mattox began his political career as the assistant district attorney in Dallas County and was then elected from an East Dallas district (33-K) to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 and reelected in 1974. As a state legislator, Mattox developed an interest in ethics reform and open government.\n', '

Considered a political liberal Mattox was elected to Congress from the Fifth Congressional District in 1976, 1978, and 1980. In his first election, running on the Jimmy Carter-Walter F. Mondale ticket, he defeated former Dallas Mayor Wes Wise, 60.9 percent to 33.9 percent. He then defeated the Republican Nancy Judy, 67,871 (54 percent) to 56,056 (44.6 percent). The incumbent Republican Alan Steelman ran unsuccessfully that year for the U.S. Senate against the Democratic incumbent Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.\n', '

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