Texas Land Commissioner

	Texas Land Commissioner
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$223,277
2025 FY Budget:	$566,418,043
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Texas Constitution, Article 14, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham; Republican Party; Assumed office: January 1, 2023
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
	Other Texas Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Comptroller • Auditor • Education Commissioner • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Land Commissioner • Workforce Commission • Public Utility Commission • Railroad Commission

The Texas Land Commissioner is a state executive position in the Texas state government. The land commissioner serves as the elected head of the Texas General Land Office (GLO).

The GLO's mission statement is: "The Texas General Land Office serves the schoolchildren, veterans, and all people of Texas by preserving their history, protecting their environment, expanding economic opportunity, and maximizing state revenue through innovative administration and prudent stewardship of state lands and resources."^[1]

Current office holder

The current Texas Land Commissioner is Dawn Buckingham (R). Buckingham assumed office in 2023.

Authority

The General Land Office is established in Article 14 of the Texas Constitution.

Article 14, Section 1:

There shall be one General Land Office in the State, which shall be at the seat of government, where all land titles which have emanated or may hereafter emanate from the State shall be registered, except those titles the registration of which may be prohibited by this Constitution. It shall be the duty of the Legislature at the earliest practicable time to make the Land Office self sustaining, and from time to time the Legislature may establish such subordinate offices as may be deemed necessary.^[2]

Qualifications

There are no specific qualifications to hold this office.^[2]

Elections

As a member of the Texas Executive Department, under Article 14 of the state constitution, the land commissioner is elected "by the qualified voters of the State at the time and places of election for members of the Legislature." In Texas, the land commissioner is elected in midterm election years (e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030).^[2]

2022

See also: Texas Public Lands Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for Texas Land Commissioner

Dawn Buckingham defeated Jay Kleberg, Alfred Molison, and Carrie Menger in the general election for Texas Land Commissioner on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Dawn Buckingham (R)	56.2	4,463,452
	Jay Kleberg (D)	42.1	3,350,291
	Alfred Molison (G)	1.7	133,034
	Carrie Menger (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	1,812

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,948,589
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner

Jay Kleberg defeated Sandragrace Martinez in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner on May 24, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jay Kleberg	52.9	254,273
	Sandragrace Martinez	47.1	225,964

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 480,237
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner

Dawn Buckingham defeated Tim Westley in the Republican primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner on May 24, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Dawn Buckingham	68.8	595,554
	Tim Westley	31.2	270,365

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 865,919
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Land Commissioner

Sandragrace Martinez and Jay Kleberg advanced to a runoff. They defeated Jinny Suh and Michael Lange in the Democratic primary for Texas Land Commissioner on March 1, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sandragrace Martinez	31.8	313,780
✔	Jay Kleberg	26.0	257,034
	Jinny Suh	21.9	216,238
	Michael Lange	20.2	199,764

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 986,816
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Land Commissioner

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Texas Land Commissioner on March 1, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Dawn Buckingham	41.9	679,125
✔	Tim Westley	14.8	239,473
	Jon Spiers	12.6	203,879
	Don Minton	10.6	171,001
	Victor Avila	7.5	121,998
	Weston Martinez	6.6	107,219
	Rufus Lopez	3.1	49,475
	Ben Armenta	3.0	48,029

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,620,199
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Green convention

Green convention for Texas Land Commissioner

Alfred Molison advanced from the Green convention for Texas Land Commissioner on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Alfred Molison (G)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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