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Texas, Governor

Texas held an election for governor on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was December 11, 2017. Primary elections were held on March 6, 2018. A Democratic primary runoff followed on May 22, 2018.

SETTING THE STAGE
  • Heading into the 2018 election, the sitting governor was Greg Abbott (R), who was first elected in 2014. On July 14, 2017, Abbott announced that he would seek re-election in 2018.
  • Heading into the election, Texas was a Republican trifecta. It had held this status since Republicans gained a majority in the Texas House of Representatives in 2003. Texas was also a Republican triplex.
  • Texas was won by the Republican candidate in each of the previous five presidential elections. The widest margin of victory was George W. Bush's 23 percent margin in 2004 while the narrowest was Donald Trump's 9 percent margin in 2016.
  • Texas was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.


    Race rating

    Race ratings: Texas gubernatorial election, 2018

    Race trackerRace ratings
    November 5, 2018October 30, 2018October 23, 2018October 16, 2018
    The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
    Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
    Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican

    State election history

    This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Texas from 2000 to 2016.

    Historical elections

    Presidential elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Texas every year from 2000 to 2016.

    Election results (President of the United States), Texas 2000-2016

    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 52.23% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 43.24% 8.99%
    2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 57.17% Democratic Party Barack Obama 41.38% 15.79%
    2008 Republican Party John McCain 55.45% Democratic Party Barack Obama 43.68% 11.77%
    2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 61.09% Democratic Party John Kerry 38.22% 22.87%
    2000 Republican Party George W. Bush 59.30% Democratic Party Al Gore 37.98% 21.32%

    U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Texas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

    Election results (U.S. Senator), Texas 2000-2016

    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2014 Republican Party John Cornyn 61.56% Democratic Party David Alameel 34.36% 27.20%
    2012 Republican Party Ted Cruz 56.46% Democratic Party Paul Sadler 40.62% 15.84%
    2008 Republican Party John Cornyn 54.82% Democratic Party Richard Noriega 42.84% 11.98%
    2006 Republican Party Kay Bailey Hutchison 61.69% Democratic Party Barbara Ann Radnofsky 36.04% 25.65%
    2002 Republican Party John Cornyn 55.30% Democratic Party Ron Kirk 43.33% 11.97%
    2000 Republican Party Kay Bailey Hutchison 65.04% Democratic Party Gene Kelly 32.35% 32.69%

    Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2014

    This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2014. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Texas.

    Election results (Governor), Texas 2000-2016

    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2014 Republican Party Greg Abbott 59.27% Democratic Party Wendy Davis 38.90% 20.37%
    2010 Republican Party Rick Perry 54.97% Democratic Party Bill White 42.30% 12.67%
    2006 Republican Party Rick Perry 39.03% Democratic Party Chris Bell 29.79% 9.24%
    2002 Republican Party Rick Perry 57.81% Democratic Party Tony Sanchez 39.96% 17.85%

    Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

    Congressional delegation, Texas 2000-2016

    Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
    2016 Republican Party 25 69.4% Democratic Party 11 30.6% R+14
    2014 Republican Party 25 69.4% Democratic Party 11 30.6% R+14
    2012 Republican Party 24 66.7% Democratic Party 12 33.3% R+12
    2010 Republican Party 23 71.9% Democratic Party 9 28.1% R+14
    2008 Republican Party 20 62.5% Democratic Party 12 37.5% R+8
    2006 Republican Party 19 59.4% Democratic Party 13 40.6% R+6
    2004 Republican Party 21 65.6% Democratic Party 11 34.4% R+10
    2002 Republican Party 15 46.9% Democratic Party 17 53.1% D+2
    2000 Republican Party 13 43.3% Democratic Party 17 56.7% D+4

    Trifectas, 1992-2017

    A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

    Texas Party Control: 1992-2019
    Three years of Democratic trifectas • 17 years of Republican trifectas

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
    Governor D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R


    Demographics

    Demographic data for Texas

    TexasU.S.
    Total population:27,429,639316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):261,2323,531,905
    Gender
    Female:50.4%50.8%
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:74.9%73.6%
    Black/African American:11.9%12.6%
    Asian:4.2%5.1%
    Native American:0.5%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
    Two or more:2.5%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:38.4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:81.9%86.7%
    College graduation rate:27.6%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$53,207$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:19.9%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas.

    As of July 2016, Texas had a population of approximately 27,862,596 people, and its three largest cities were Houston (pop. est. 2.3 million), San Antonio (pop. est. 1.5 million), and Dallas (pop. est. 1.3 million).