2018 Texas gubernatorial election

The 2018 Texas gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Texas, concurrently with the election of Texas's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other congressional, state and local elections throughout the United States and Texas. Incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott won re-election to a second term in office defeating Democratic nominee Lupe Valdez, the former sheriff of Dallas County, and Libertarian nominee Mark Tippetts, a former member of the Lago Vista city council.

The Republican and Democratic party primaries were held on March 6, 2018, making them the first primaries of the 2018 electoral season. Abbott won the March 6 primary with 90% of the vote to receive the Republican nomination, while Democratic candidates Lupe Valdez and Andrew White advanced to a May 22 runoff. Valdez defeated White in the runoff with 53.1% of the vote and faced Abbott in the general election as the Democratic nominee.

Valdez's nomination made her the first openly gay person nominated for governor by a major party in the state.

Tippetts was nominated at the Libertarian Party of Texas' state convention in Houston April 13–15, 2018. He defeated three challengers, as well as the None Of The Above option, on the first ballot and received more than 70% approval from Libertarian party delegates.

Despite considerably closer contests in other Texas state elections, Abbott handily won a second term with the highest margin of victory of any state official on the ballot, although Valdez also won the largest vote share for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate since Ann Richards in 1994. Tippetts' showing exceeded the previous record for most votes for a Libertarian nominee for Texas governor; that record had been set in 1990.

The election also took place alongside a closer, higher-profile Senate race between Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz, which may have played a factor in making the Democratic gubernatorial candidate considerably more competitive than in 2014. Abbott won a majority among white voters (72% to 26%), while Valdez won majorities among African Americans (80% to 16%) and Latinos (63% to 35%).

Nominated

 * Greg Abbott, incumbent governor and former Texas Attorney General

Eliminated in primary

 * Larry Kilgore, secession activist
 * Barbara Krueger, retired teacher

Declined

 * Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (running for re-election)
 * Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

Nominated

 * Lupe Valdez, former Dallas County Sheriff

Eliminated in primary

 * James Jolly Clark, businessman
 * Cedric Davis, former mayor of Balch Springs
 * Joe Mumbach, businessman
 * Adrian Ocegueda, financial analyst
 * Jeffrey Payne, businessman and 2009 International Mr. Leather
 * Demetria Smith, mortgage broker
 * Tom Wakely, hospice chaplain and nominee for TX-21 in 2016
 * Andrew White, entrepreneur and son of Governor Mark White
 * Grady Yarbrough, retired educator

Withdrew

 * Garry Brown, candidate for Travis County Commission in 2014
 * Lee Weaver

Declined

 * Rafael Anchia, state representative
 * Dwight Boykins, Houston City Councilman
 * Joaquín Castro, U.S. Representative
 * Julian Castro, former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Mayor of San Antonio
 * Mike Collier, businessman and nominee for Comptroller in 2014 (running for Lieutenant Governor)
 * Wendy Davis, former state senator and nominee in 2014
 * Pete Gallego, former U.S. Representative
 * Eva Longoria, actress and political activist
 * Jack Martin, CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies
 * Trey Martinez Fischer, former state representative
 * William McRaven, Chancellor of the University of Texas System, retired Navy Admiral and former Commander of the United States Special Operations Command
 * Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College
 * Allen Vaught, former state representative

Results
[[File:Texas Governor Results – D Primary 2018.svg|thumb|Initial primary results by county Valdez

{{legend|#0066ff|Valdez—60–70%}}

{{legend|#2a7fff|Valdez—50–60%}}

{{legend|#5599ff|Valdez—40–50%}}

{{legend|#80b3ff|Valdez—30–40%}}

{{legend|#aaccff|Valdez—20–30%}} White

{{legend|#005500|White—100%}}

{{legend|#2aff2a|White—50–60%}}

{{legend|#55ff55|White—40–50%}}

{{legend|#80ff80|White—30–40%}}

{{legend|#aaffaa|White—20–30%}} Davis

{{legend|#cc00ff|Davis—60–70%}}

{{legend|#eeaaff|Davis—20–30%}}

{{legend|#f6d5ff|Davis—<20%}} Yarbrough

{{legend|#ffaaaa|Yarbrough—20–30%}}

{{legend|#ff8080|Yarbrough—30–40%}} Payne

{{legend|#d4aa00|Payne—70–80%}} Wakely

{{legend|#ffb380|Wakely—30–40%}}

{{legend|#ffccaa|Wakely—20–30%}} Tie

{{legend|#999999|Tie}} ]]

Runoff
[[File:Texas gubernatorial Democratic primary runoff, 2018.svg|thumb|Runoff results by county Valdez

{{legend|#002b84|Valdez—>90%}}

{{legend|#0645b4|Valdez—80–90%}}

{{legend|#1666cb|Valdez—70–80%}}

{{legend|#4389e3|Valdez—60–70%}}

{{legend|#86b6f2|Valdez—50–60%}} Tie

{{legend|#656565|Tie}} White

{{legend|#73d873|White—50–60%}}

{{legend|#42ca42|White—60–70%}}

{{legend|#30a630|White—70–80%}}

{{legend|#217821|White—80–90%}}

{{legend|#165016|White—>90%}} No vote

{{legend|#f0f0f0|No vote}} ]] Lupe Valdez and Andrew White proceeded to a run-off on May 22 since neither received 50% of the vote in the first round of the primary. Lupe Valdez won the runoff.

Nominated

 * Mark Tippetts, former Lago Vista City Councilman

Defeated at Convention

 * Kathie Glass, attorney and previous nominee
 * Patrick Smith
 * Kory Watkins, activist

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, September 28, 2018

Predictions

 * Notes

Polling

 * with Andrew White


 * with Julian Castro


 * with Wendy Davis

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Bexar (largest municipality: San Antonio)
 * Culberson (largest municipality: Van Horn)
 * Harris (largest municipality: Houston)
 * Hays (largest municipality: San Marcos)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Frio (largest municipality: Pearsall)
 * Jim Wells (largest municipality: Alice)
 * Val Verde (largest municipality: Del Rio)

By congressional district
Abbott won 25 of 36 congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats.