2018 Texas gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican governor Greg Abbott won re-election to a second term in office[2] 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.

[3] 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.

[4] Valdez defeated White in the runoff with 53.1% of the vote and faced Abbott in the general election as the Democratic nominee.

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.

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.

Initial primary results by county
Valdez
  • Valdez—60–70%
  • Valdez—50–60%
  • Valdez—40–50%
  • Valdez—30–40%
  • Valdez—20–30%
White
  • White—100%
  • White—50–60%
  • White—40–50%
  • White—30–40%
  • White—20–30%
Davis
  • Davis—60–70%
  • Davis—20–30%
  • Davis—<20%
Yarbrough
  • Yarbrough—20–30%
  • Yarbrough—30–40%
Payne
  • Payne—70–80%
Wakely
  • Wakely—30–40%
  • Wakely—20–30%
Tie
  • Tie
Runoff results by county
Valdez
  • Valdez—>90%
  • Valdez—80–90%
  • Valdez—70–80%
  • Valdez—60–70%
  • Valdez—50–60%
Tie
  • Tie
White
  • White—50–60%
  • White—60–70%
  • White—70–80%
  • White—80–90%
  • White—>90%
No vote
  • No vote