Seven state executive positions were up for election in 2014 in the state of Texas. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

In addition to candidate lists and election results, this page includes information about important dates, how the state's executive branch is organized, as well as links to articles about recent news in races across the state.

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)^[1]

“

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.'^[2]

”

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

The following offices were elected in 2014 in Texas:

Partisan breakdown

Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held seven of the seven state executive seats in Texas.

Texas State Executives -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 4, 2014	After the 2014 Election
	Republican Party	7	7
	Democratic Party	0	0
Total		7	7

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Candidates by office

	2015 → ← 2013
	2014; State Executive Official Elections
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Table of Contents
	Partisan breakdown ; Candidates by office ; Voter turnout ; Key deadlines ; State executive organization ; Ballotpedia reports ; Recent news ; See also
See also
	News • Calendar

Office	Incumbent	Assumed Office	Incumbent running?	General Election Candidates	2015 Winner	Partisan Switch?
Governor	Rick Perry	2000	No^[3]	Greg Abbott Wendy Davis Kathie Glass Brandon Parmer	Greg Abbott	No
Lieutenant Governor	David Dewhurst	2003	Lost primary^[4]	Dan Patrick Leticia Van de Putte Robert Butler Chandrakantha Courtney	Dan Patrick	No
Attorney General	Greg Abbott	2003	Ran for governor^[5]	Ken Paxton Sam Houston Jamie Balagia Jamar Osborne	Ken Paxton	No
Comptroller of Public Accounts	Susan Combs	2007	No^[6]	Glenn Hegar Mike Collier Ben Sanders Deb Shafto	Glenn Hegar	No
Land Commissioner	Jerry Patterson	2003	Ran for lieutenant governor^[7]	George P. Bush John Cook Justin Knight Valerie Alessi	George P. Bush	No
Commissioner of Agriculture	Todd Staples	2003	Ran for lieutenant governor^[8]	Sid Miller Jim Hogan Rocky Palmquist Kenneth Kendrick	Sid Miller	No
Railroad Commission	Barry Smitherman	2011	Ran for attorney general^[9]	Ryan Sitton Steve Brown Mark Miller Martina Salinas	Ryan Sitton	No

Primary election results

Governor

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.

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.

Lieutenant Governor

Texas Lieutenant Gubernatorial Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Dan Patrick	41.4%	552,692
David Dewhurst Incumbent	28.3%	377,856
Todd Staples	17.8%	236,949
Jerry Patterson	12.5%	166,399
Total Votes		1,333,896
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Runoff

Texas Lieutenant Gubernatorial Republican Runoff, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Dan Patrick	65%	489,586
David Dewhurst Incumbent	35%	263,194
Total Votes		752,780
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Attorney General

Texas Attorney General Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ken Paxton	44.5%	569,034
Dan Branch	33.4%	428,034
Barry Smitherman	22.1%	282,701
Total Votes		1,279,769
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Runoff

Texas Attorney General Republican Runoff, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ken Paxton	65%	489,586
Dan Branch	35%	263,194
Total Votes		752,780
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Comptroller

Texas Comptroller Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Glenn Hegar	50%	612,269
Harvey Hilderbran	26%	318,899
Debra Medina	19.3%	236,531
Raul Torres	4.6%	56,937
Total Votes		1,224,636
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Land Commissioner

Texas Lands Commissioner Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
George P. Bush	73%	937,987
David Watts	27%	346,949
Total Votes		1,284,936
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Railroad Commissioner

Texas Railroad Commissioner Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Wayne Christian	42.7%	503,634
Ryan Sitton	30.5%	360,125
Becky Berger	16.8%	198,672
Malachi Boyuls	10%	117,511
Total Votes		1,179,942
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Steve Brown	64%	299,009
Dale Henry	36%	168,036
Total Votes		467,045
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Runoff

Texas Railroad Commissioner Republican Primary Runoff, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ryan Sitton	57.3%	400,259
Wayne Christian	42.7%	298,659
Total Votes		698,918
Election results via Texas Secretary of State. Vote totals above are unofficial and reflect 98 precincts reporting.

Agriculture Commissioner

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sid Miller	34.6%	411,560
Tommy Merritt	20.9%	249,440
Eric Opiela	17.4%	207,222
Joe Cotten	14.6%	174,348
J. Allen Carnes	12.4%	148,222
Total Votes		1,190,792
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jim Hogan	38.7%	190,090
Richard "Kinky" Friedman	37.7%	185,180
Hugh Asa Fitzsimons, III	23.5%	115,395
Total Votes		490,665
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Runoff

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Republican Primary Runoff, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sid Miller	53.2%	364,756
Tommy Merritt	46.8%	320,835
Total Votes		685,591
Election results via Texas Secretary of State. Vote totals above are unofficial and reflect 98 precincts reporting.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Democratic Primary Runoff, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jim Hogan	53.7%	105,887
Richard "Kinky" Friedman	46.3%	91,282
Total Votes		197,169
Election results via Texas Secretary of State. Vote totals above are unofficial and reflect 98 precincts reporting.

General election results

The general election took place on November 4, 2014. ==Governor

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

Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Texas, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dan Patrick	58.1%	2,724,493
	Democrat	Leticia Van de Putte	38.7%	1,813,974
	Libertarian	Robert Butler	2.6%	119,833
	Green	Chandrakantha Courtney	0.6%	27,719
Total Votes				4,686,019
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Attorney General

Attorney General of Texas, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ken Paxton	58.8%	2,742,646
	Democrat	Sam Houston	38%	1,773,108
	Libertarian	Jamie Balagia	2.5%	118,186
	Green	Jamar Osborne	0.6%	29,590
Total Votes				4,663,530
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Comptroller

Texas Comptroller, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Glenn Hegar	58.4%	2,697,877
	Democrat	Mike Collier	37.7%	1,742,119
	Libertarian	Ben Sanders	3%	136,869
	Green	Deb Shafto	1%	44,981
Total Votes				4,621,846
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Land Commissioner

Texas Land Commissioner, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	George P. Bush	60.7%	2,826,751
	Democrat	John Cook	35.3%	1,645,696
	Libertarian	Justin Knight	2.7%	126,406
	Green	Valerie Alessi	1.3%	60,112
Total Votes				4,658,965
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Railroad Commissioner

Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ryan Sitton	58.3%	2,690,624
	Democrat	Steve Brown	36.5%	1,682,644
	Libertarian	Mark Miller	3.2%	145,365
	Green	Martina Salinas	2%	93,800
Total Votes				4,612,433
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Agriculture Commissioner

Texas Agriculture Commissioner, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Sid Miller	58.6%	2,698,694
	Democrat	Jim Hogan	36.8%	1,697,083
	Libertarian	Rocky Palmquist	2.9%	132,511
	Green	Kenneth Kendrick	1.7%	77,548
Total Votes				4,605,836
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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12]

Forty-three states and the District of Columbia did not 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.

Twelve states increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.^[13]

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.

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

State executive organization

Executive officials in Pennsylvania are part of a three-pronged government structure that includes state legislators and state judges.

Ballotpedia reports

To learn more about developments in these races, check out the following news articles from Ballotpedia:

Grand jury indicts Governor Rick Perry on abuse of official capacity, coercion charges

Recent news

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

Texas state executive elections News Feed

External links

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Footnotes

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

[quotedisclaimer-2] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

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

[4] Huffington Post, "David Dewhurst, Texas Lieutenant Governor, Launches Re-election Bid," August 7, 2013

[govrun-5] Houston Chronicle, "AG Abbott formally kicks off gubernatorial bid," July 14, 2013

[elec14-6] Reporternews.com, "Comptroller Combs will not run for any statewide office in 2014," May 29, 2013 (dead link)

[yes14-7] The Associated Press, "George P. Bush running for Texas land commissioner," March 12, 2013

[8] Dallas News, "Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples says next lieutenant governor should be new leader," July 11, 2013

[2014attygen-9] Texas Tribune, "Smitherman to Announce Run For Attorney General," June 24, 2013

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

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

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

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

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Texas state executive official elections, 2014

Partisan breakdown

Candidates by office

Primary election results

Runoff

Runoff

Runoff

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General election results

Voter turnout

Key deadlines

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