Texas gubernatorial election, 2014

	; ; Texas Gubernatorial Election
	Primary Date: ; March 4, 2014
	General Election Date: ; November 4, 2014
	November 4 Election Winner: ; Greg Abbott
	Incumbent prior to election: ; Rick Perry
	Texas State Executive Elections Top Ballot; Governor • Lt. Governor • Attorney General; Down Ballot; Comptroller, Land Commissioner, Commissioner of Agriculture, Railroad Commissioner
	Current trifecta for Republicans
	State executive offices in Texas

The Texas gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Rick Perry (R) was eligible for re-election in 2014 but announced on July 8, 2013, that he would not seek re-election.^[1]

The race to replace Perry in the governor's mansion included Attorney General Greg Abbott (R), state Sen. Wendy Davis, Libertarian Party candidate Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Brandon Parmer. Abbott won election to a four-year term in office. Supporters of Abbott and Davis spent significant amounts of money on ads with more than $5 million spent during a two-week period in September alone. Abbott held a steady lead in polls taken throughout the summer and fall, as detailed in the polls section. Davis had an uphill climb to win the race, as Republicans had held the office since 1995 and Rick Perry won three elections in a row as shown in the past elections section.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary. The voter must sign a pledge stating the following (the language below is taken directly from state statutes)^[2]

“

The following pledge shall be placed on the primary election ballot above the listing of candidates' names: 'I am a (insert appropriate political party) and understand that I am ineligible to vote or participate in another political party's primary election or convention during this voting year.'^[3]

”

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Candidates

Wendy Davis - State Senator^[4]
Greg Abbott - Texas Attorney General^[5]^[6]^[7]
Kathie Glass - Houston lawyer and 2010 gubernatorial candidate^[8]^[9]
Brandon Parmer^[10]

Lost primary or at convention

Reynaldo "Ray" Madrigal^[11]
SECEDE Kilgore - Conservative Activist and Telecommunications Worker^[12]
Miriam Martinez - Media personality, former Texas House candidate.^[13]
Lisa Fritsch - Author and conservative radio host^[14]
Lee Wrights - Libertarian activist, writer and editor^[15]^[9]
Robert J. Bell^[16]^[9]
Star Locke^[16]^[9]

Withdrew

Tom Pauken - Former Texas Workforce Commissioner and state Republican Party Chairman^[17]^[18]
Gene Chapman - Gandhian Minister, Anti-Tax Activist and '08 Presidential Candidate^[19]^[20]
Robert Lynn Garett^[16]

Declined to run

Rick Perry - Incumbent^[21]
Debra Medina - Tea Party activist^[22]

Results

General election

Governor of Texas, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Abbott	59.3%	2,796,547
	Democratic	Wendy Davis	38.9%	1,835,596
	Libertarian	Kathie Glass	1.4%	66,543
	Green	Brandon Parmer	0.4%	18,520
	Write-in	Sarah Pavitt	0%	1,062
Total Votes				4,718,268
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Primary election

Republican primary

Texas Gubernatorial Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Greg Abbott	91.5%	1,224,014
Lisa Fritsch	4.4%	59,221
Miriam Martinez	2.7%	35,585
SECEDE Kilgore	1.4%	19,055
Total Votes		1,337,875
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Democratic primary

Texas Gubernatorial Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Wendy Davis	78.1%	432,595
Reynaldo "Ray" Madrigal	21.9%	121,419
Total Votes		554,014
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Polls

General election

General election
All candidates

Governor of Texas
Poll	Greg Abbott (R)	Wendy Davis (D)	Brandon Parmer (G)	Kathie Glass (L)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size

University of Texas/Texas Tribune October 10-19, 2014	54%	38%	6%	2%	0%	+/-3.33	866
KHOU-TV/Houston Public Media September 22-October 16, 2014	47%	32%	1.4%	0.7%	17%	+/-3.5	781
AVERAGES	50.5%	35%	3.7%	1.35%	8.5%	+/-3.42	823.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Major-party candidates

Governor of Texas
Poll	Greg Abbott (R)	Wendy Davis (D)	Other/Don't Know/NA	Margin of error	Sample size

New York Times/CBS News/YouGov October 16-23, 2014	57%	37%	6%	+/-3	3,987
Rasmussen Reports October 1-2, 2014	51%	40%	10%	+/-3.5	840
YouGov August 18-September2, 2014	56%	38%	6%	+/-2	4,189
Rasmussen Reports August4-5, 2014	48%	40%	12%	+/-3.5	850
YouGov July 5-24, 2014	54%	37%	9%	+/-0	4,320
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll May 30 - June 8, 2014	44%	32%	24%	+/-2.83	1,200
Public Policy Polling April 10-13, 2014	51%	37%	13%	+/-4.1	559
Emerson College Polling Society March 7-12, 2014	49%	42%	9%	+/-4.4	404
Rasmussen Reports March 3-4, 2014	53%	41%	5%	+/-4.5	500
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll February 7-17, 2014	47%	36%	17%	+/-3.28	1,200
Public Policy Polling November 1-4, 2013	50%	35%	15%	+/-4.4	500
Texas Lyceum Poll September 6-20, 2013	29%	21%	50%	+/-3.47	798
AVERAGES	49.08%	36.33%	14.67%	+/-3.25	1,612.25
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Hypothetical match-ups

Governor of Texas
Poll	Greg Abbott (R)	Wendy Davis (D)	Kathie Glass (L)	Don't Know/NA	Margin of error	Sample size

University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll October 18-27, 2013	40%	35%	5%	20%	+/-3.33	1,200
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Governor of Texas
Poll	Greg Abbott (R)	Wendy Davis (D)	Debra Medina (I)	Don't Know/NA	Margin of error	Sample size

Public Policy Polling November 1-4, 2013	47%	37%	9%	8%	+/-4.4	500
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Primary election

Governor of Texas - Republican Primary
Poll	Greg Abbott	Miriam Martinez	Lisa Fritsch	SECEDE Kilgore	Margin of error	Sample size

University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll February 7-17, 2014	88%	5%	5%	2%	+/-5.37	543
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Governor of Texas - Republican Primary
Poll	Greg Abbott	Lisa Fritsch	Tom Pauken	Miriam Martinez	Larry Kilgore	Don't Know	Margin of error	Sample size

University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll October 18-27, 2013	50%	3%	2%	2%	1%	42%	+/-5.02	1,200
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Democratic primary

Governor of Texas - Democratic Primary
Poll	Wendy Davis	Ray Madrigal	Margin of error	Sample size

University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll February 7-17, 2014	85%	15%	+/-6.06	381
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Campaign media

General election

Greg Abbott

Greg Abbott ad: Wendy Davis: Unethical and Unfit for Texas

Greg Abbott ad: Wendy Davis: Just Like Obama

Greg Abbott ad: Who Wants to Be Texas Governor?

Wendy Davis

Wendy Davis ad: Justice

Primary election

Wendy Davis

Ad spending

The Wesleyan Media Project published a report on September 30, 2014, highlighting spending on gubernatorial races from September 12-25. This report found that Democratic and Republican groups spent a total of $46.84 million on TV ads in 15 states with gubernatorial elections. The following chart details the group's findings, including spending amounts and number of ads:^[23]

Note: A bolded number indicates the highest total for this category. A number in italics is the lowest total for this category.

Spending on TV ads, September 12-25, 2014
State	Total # of ads	% Democratic-leaning ads	% GOP-leaning ads	Total spending-Democratic leaning (in millions of $)	Total spending-GOP leaning (in millions of $)
Colorado	2,460	83.1	16.9	1.35	0.39
Connecticut	2,312	61.7	38.3	1.48	0.89
Florida	20,111	38.5	61.5	4.07	6.64
Georgia	4,625	51.1	48.9	1.43	0.99
Illinois	7,793	63.5	36.5	4.17	3.5
Iowa	2,134	47.5	52.5	0.25	0.38
Kansas	5,024	45.7	54.3	0.85	1.17
Maine	3,281	42.3	57.7	0.46	0.32
Michigan	6,767	33.9	66.1	1.14	2.3
Minnesota	1,974	83.9	16.1	0.65	0.29
New York	4,926	61	39	2.18	0.88
Pennsylvania	3,263	50.9	49.1	1.58	1.23
South Carolina	2,883	39.1	60.9	0.33	0.38
Texas	10,330	33.4	66.6	2.24	2.93
Wisconsin	7,374	63.3	36.7	1.36	1.01
TOTALS	85,257	48.2	51.8	23.54	23.3

Past elections

2010

Governor of Texas, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Perry Incumbent	55%	2,737,481
	Democratic	Bill White	42.3%	2,106,395
	Libertarian	Kathie Glass	2.2%	109,211
	Green	Deb Shafto	0.4%	19,516
	Write-In	Andy Barron	0.1%	7,267
Total Votes				4,979,870
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

2006

Governor of Texas, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Perry Incumbent	39%	1,716,792
	Democratic	Chris Bell	29.8%	1,310,337
	Libertarian	James Werner	0.6%	26,749
	Independent	Richard "Kinky" Friedman	12.4%	547,674
	Independent	Carole Keeton Strayhorn	18.1%	796,851
	Write-In	James "Patriot" Dillon	0%	713
Total Votes				4,399,116
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

2002

On November 5, 2002, Rick Perry won re-election to the office of Governor of Texas. He defeated Tony Sanchez, Jeff Daiell, Rahul Mahajan, Elaine Eure Henderson and Earl W. (Bill) O'Neil in the general election.

Governor of Texas, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Perry Incumbent	57.8%	2,632,591
	Democratic	Tony Sanchez	40%	1,819,798
	Libertarian	Jeff Daiell	1.5%	66,720
	Green	Rahul Mahajan	0.7%	32,187
	Write-In	Elaine Eure Henderson	0%	1,715
	Write-In	Earl W. (Bill) O'Neil	0%	976
Total Votes				4,553,987
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Voter turnout

Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.^[24] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.^[25]

Quick facts

According to PBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.^[26]

Forty-three states and the District of Columbia failed to surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.

The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis were Texas (28.3 percent), Tennessee (28.6 percent), and Indiana (28.8 percent).

Maine (58.5 percent), Wisconsin (56.5 percent), and Colorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.

There were only 12 states that increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.^[27]

Voter turnout rates, 2014
State	Total votes counted	% voter eligible population	Top statewide office up for election	Size of lead (Raw votes)	Size of lead (%)
Alabama	1,191,274	33.2	Governor	320,319	27.2
Alaska	285,431	54.4	Governor	4,004	1.6
Arizona	1,537,671	34.1	Governor	143,951	12.5
Arkansas	852,642	40.1	Governor	118,664	14.0
California	7,513,972	30.8	Governor	1,065,748	17.8
Colorado	2,080,071	54.5	Governor	50,395	2.4
Connecticut	1,096,509	42.5	Governor	26,603	2.5
Delaware	234,038	34.4	Attorney General	31,155	13.6
District of Columbia	177,176	35.8	Mayor	27,934	19.0
Florida	6,026,802	43.3	Governor	66,127	1.1
Georgia	2,596,947	38.5	Governor	202,685	8.0
Hawaii	369,554	36.5	Governor	45,323	12.4
Idaho	445,307	39.6	Governor	65,852	14.9
Illinois	3,680,417	40.9	Governor	171,900	4.9
Indiana	1,387,622	28.8	Secretary of State	234,978	17.8
Iowa	1,142,284	50.2	Governor	245,548	21.8
Kansas	887,023	43.4	Governor	33,052	3.9
Kentucky	1,435,868	44.0	U.S. Senate	222,096	15.5
Louisiana	1,472,039	43.8	U.S. Senate	16,401	1.1
Maine	616,996	58.5	Governor	29,820	4.9
Maryland	1,733,177	41.5	Governor	88,648	6.1
Massachusetts	2,186,789	44.6	Governor	40,361	1.9
Michigan	3,188,956	43.2	Governor	129,547	4.3
Minnesota	1,992,613	50.5	Governor	109,776	5.6
Mississippi	631,858	28.9	U.S. Senate	141,234	33.0
Missouri	1,426,303	31.8	Auditor	684,074	53.6
Montana	373,831	47.3	U.S. Senate	65,262	17.9
Nebraska	552,115	41.5	Governor	97,678	18.7
Nevada	547,349	29.0	Governor	255,793	46.7
New Hampshire	495,565	48.4	Governor	24,924	5.2
New Jersey	1,955,042	32.5	N/A	N/A	N/A
New Mexico	512,805	35.7	Governor	73,868	14.6
New York	3,930,310	29.0	Governor	476,252	13.4
North Carolina	2,939,767	41.2	U.S. Senate	48,511	1.7
North Dakota	255,128	45.0	U.S. House At-large seat	42,214	17.1
Ohio	3,149,876	36.2	Governor	933,235	30.9
Oklahoma	824,831	29.8	Governor	122,060	14.7
Oregon	1,541,782	53.5	Governor	59,029	4.5
Pennsylvania	3,495,866	36.0	Governor	339,261	9.8
Rhode Island	329,212	42.2	Governor	14,346	4.5
South Carolina	1,261,611	35.2	Governor	179,089	14.6
South Dakota	282,291	44.9	Governor	124,865	45.1
Tennessee	1,374,065	28.6	Governor	642,214	47.5
Texas	4,727,208	28.3	Governor	957,973	20.4
Utah	577,973	30.2	Attorney General	173,819	35.2
Vermont	193,087	38.8	Governor	2,095	1.1
Virginia	2,194,346	36.6	U.S. Senate	16,727	0.8
Washington	2,123,901	43.1	N/A	N/A	N/A
West Virginia	451,498	31.2	U.S. Senate	124,667	27.6
Wisconsin	2,410,314	56.5	Governor	137,607	5.7
Wyoming	168,390	39.3	Governor	52,703	33.6

Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $51,708,295 during the election. This information was last updated on April 8, 2015.^[28]

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate	Office	Result	Contributions
Greg Abbott	Texas Governor		$47,464,245
Wendy Davis	Texas Governor		$4,034,013
Lisa Fritsch	Texas Governor		$128,063
Kathie Glass	Texas Governor		$78,124
Larry Kilgore	Texas Governor		$3,850
Miriam Martinez	Texas Governor		$0
Ray Madrigal	Texas Governor		$0
Sarah Pavitt	Texas Governor		$0
Brandon Parmer	Texas Governor		$0
Grand Total Raised			$51,708,295

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
December 9, 2013	Filing deadline for candidates
March 4, 2014	Primary election
May 27, 2014	Primary run-off election
November 4, 2014	General election
January 20, 2015	Inauguration

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Texas + Governor + elections"

Texas Gubernatorial Election News Feed

External links

Suggest a link

Office of the Governor of Texas

Additional reading

Burnt Orange Report - 2014 Texas Governor's Race: Democratic Primary Preview Feb. 18

Footnotes

[1] USA Today, "Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he won't run again," July 8, 2013

[2] Texas Statutes, "Section 172.086," accessed October 7, 2024

[quotedisclaimer-3] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[4] Washington Post, "Wendy Davis announces run for Texas governor," October 3, 2013

[5] Associated Press, "Dad: George P. Bush eyeing Texas land commissioner," November 14, 2012 (dead link)

[6] National Journal, "Report: Abbott to run for Texas governor," January 11, 2013

[govrun-7] Houston Chronicle, "AG Abbott formally kicks off gubernatorial bid," July 14, 2013

[8] Statesman, "Year of the Women? Will Greg Abbott face Wendy Davis, Kathie Glass and Debra Medina in 2014?" October 1, 2013

[Lconvention-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 Independent Political Report, "Texas, Wisconsin Libertarian Conventions This Weekend," 4/11/2014

[10] Green Party of Texas, "Press Release: 50 Candidates File to Run as Greens in Texas," December 10, 2013

[11] Star-Telegram, "2014 campaign now off and running in Texas," November 9, 2013

[12] My San Antonio, "Secession succeeds — as a talking point," November 24, 2012

[govcand-13] Valley Morning Star, "Miriam Martinez says she’ll run for governor," January 22, 2013

[14] Dallas Morning News, "Tea party activist jumps into GOP contest for governor in Texas," October 8, 2013

[15] Examiner, "Lee Wrights announces for Libertarian governor in Grapevine," October 31, 2013

[LP_2014-16] 16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 Libertarian Party of Texas, " 2014 Texas statewide offices," accessed December 10, 2013

[17] The Dallas Morning News, "Former Texas GOP Chairman Tom Pauken to run for governor," March 21, 2013

[withdrawn-18] Dallas Morning News, "Tom Pauken withdraws from GOP governor’s race," December 5, 2013

[19] Dalhart Texan, "Chapman for Governor," July 2013

[20] Very Good Citizenship Today, "Chapman Withdraws from Texas Gubernatorial Race," January 10, 2014

[21] NBC News, "Perry won't seek re-election as TX governor," July 8, 2013

[22] Dallas Morning News, "Debra Media nixes governor run; files for comptroller," November 13, 2013

[23] Wesleyan Media Project, "GOP Groups Keeping Senate Contests Close," September 30, 2014

[24] United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014

[25] TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014

[26] PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014

[27] U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014

[28] Follow the Money, "Overview of Texas 2014 elections," accessed accessed April 9, 2015

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Texas gubernatorial election, 2014

Candidates

Lost primary or at convention

Withdrew

Declined to run

Results

General election

Primary election

Republican primary

Democratic primary

Polls

General election

Primary election

Democratic primary

Campaign media

General election

Greg Abbott

Wendy Davis

Primary election

Wendy Davis

Ad spending

Past elections

2010

2006

2002

Voter turnout

Campaign finance

Key deadlines

Recent news

See also

External links

Additional reading

Footnotes

Information about voting

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