2014 Texas elections

The 2014 general election was held in the U.S. state of Texas on November 4, 2014. All of Texas's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of Texas's thirty-six seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on March 4, 2014. Primary runoffs, required if no candidate wins a majority of the vote, were held on May 27, 2014. Elections were also held for the Texas legislature and proposition 1, seeking funds for Texas highways (which passed).

A combination of retirements, incumbents seeking other offices and a primary defeat means that after the election, for the first time since 1874, all of Texas's executive offices were held by new officeholders.

The Tea Party made large gains in the 2014 elections, with Tea Party-backed candidates being elected into offices such as lieutenant governor and attorney general, among other offices.[1][2][3]

Governor

Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry, who has served in the office since December 21, 2000, when George W. Bush resigned ahead of being sworn-in as President of the United States, has announced that he will not run for a fourth full term as governor. This will be the first open election for governor since 1990, when Ann Richards was elected.

Greg Abbott won the Republican primary, Wendy Davis won the Democratic primary. Kathie Glass won the Libertarian Party of Texas nomination in convention. They and a Green candidate will contest the general election.

Abbott won the general election, defeating Davis by twenty points.

Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst ran for re-election to an unprecedented fourth term in office.

Candidates

Declared

• David Dewhurst, incumbent lieutenant governor[4]
• Dan Patrick, state senator[5]
• Jerry E. Patterson, Commissioner of the General Land Office[6]
• Todd Staples, Commissioner of Agriculture[7]

Declined

• Susan Combs, Comptroller of Public Accounts[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Dewhurst	Dan Branch	Susan Combs	Ed Emmett	Dan Patrick	Jerry Patterson	Todd Staples	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	February 7–17, 2014	461	± 4.56%	37%	—	—	—	31%	17%	15%	—	—
Public Policy Polling	November 1–4, 2013	388	± 5%	37%	—	—	—	18%	10%	4%	—	31%
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 18–27, 2013	519	± 5.02%	26%	—	—	—	13%	10%	5%	—	46%
Public Policy Polling	June 28–July 1, 2013	318	± ?	37%	—	—	—	17%	7%	5%	—	34%
UoT/Texas Tribune	May 31–June 9, 2013	492	± 5.27%	19%	—	—	—	10%	6%	5%	—	61%
Public Policy Polling	January 24–27, 2013	400	± ?	37%	—	18%	—	12%	2%	4%	—	26%
University of Texas-Austin	May 7–13, 2012	343	± 5.29%	—	3%	29%	—	23%	9%	10%	22%	4%
DWBS	April 27–30, 2012	400	± 4.5%	—	2%	28%	5%	15%	5%	7%	—	39%
University of Texas-Austin	February 8–15, 2012	361	± 5.16%	—	3%	27%	—	20%	8%	8%	34%	—
University of Texas-Austin	October 19–26, 2011	397	± 4.92%	—	1%	14%	—	9%	5%	2%	5%	64%

Results

Republican primary results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Patrick	552,692	41.43
	Republican	David Dewhurst	377,856	28.32
	Republican	Todd Staples	236,949	17.76
	Republican	Jerry Patterson	166,399	12.47
Total votes			1,333,896	100

Runoff

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Dewhurst	Dan Patrick	Other	Undecided
Baselice & Associates	March 5–6, 2014	501	± 4.4%	34%	55%	—	11%

Results

Republican primary runoff results[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Patrick	487,829	65.05
	Republican	David Dewhurst	262,086	34.95
Total votes			749,915	100

Candidates

Declared

• Leticia Van de Putte, state senator[11]

Withdrew

• Maria Luisa Alvarado, retired United States Air Force master sergeant and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006[12][13]

Candidates

Declared

• Brandon de Hoyos, journalist[14]

Withdrew

• Ed Kless, businessman[14][13]

Candidates

Declared

• Chandra Courtney[13]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dan Patrick (R)	Leticia Van de Putte (D)	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 10–19, 2014	866	± 3.6%	52%	35%	13%[15]	—
Survey Research Center	September 22–October 16, 2014	781	± 3.5%	36%	24%	6%[16]	34%
Crosswind Communications	October 9–12, 2014	500	± 4.33%	42.8%	23%	1.2%	33%
Texas Lyceum	September 11–25, 2014	666	± 3.8%	47%	33%	5%[17]	14%
UoT/Texas Tribune	May 30–June 8, 2014	1,200	± 2.83%	41%	26%	9%[18]	23%
Public Policy Polling	April 10–13, 2014	559	± 4.1%	51%	35%	—	14%
UoT/Texas Tribune	February 7–17, 2014	1,200	± 2.83%	41%	32%	—	28%

Results

Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Patrick	2,718,406	58.13
	Democratic	Leticia Van de Putte	1,810,720	38.72
	Libertarian	Robert Butler	119,581	2.55
	Green	Chandra Courtney	27,651	0.59
Majority			907,686	19.41%
Total votes			4,676,358	100
Turnout				33.34
	Republican hold

Attorney General

Incumbent Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott did not run for re-election to a fourth term. He was instead the Republican nominee for governor.

Candidates

Declared

• Dan Branch, state representative[20]
• Ken Paxton, state senator[21]
• Barry Smitherman, chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas[22]

Declined

• Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General[23]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dan Branch	Ken Paxton	Barry Smitherman	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	February 7–17, 2014	461	± 4.56%	42%	38%	20%	—	—
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 18–27, 2013	519	± 5.02%	5%	10%	11%	—	74%

Results

Republican primary results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ken Paxton	569,034	44.45
	Republican	Dan Branch	428,325	33.46
	Republican	Barry Smitherman	282,701	22.08
Total votes			1,280,060	100

Runoff

Results

Republican primary runoff results[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ken Paxton	466,224	63.63
	Republican	Dan Branch	266,539	36.37
Total votes			732,763	100

Candidates

Declared

• Sam Houston, attorney and nominee for Texas Supreme Court Justice Place 7 in 2008[24]

Candidates

Declared

• Jamie Balagia[13] (In 2019, Balagia was found guilty of defrauding Colombian drug traffickers thousands of dollars after claiming to be well-connected to U.S. officials who could dismiss the drug trafficking cases if the Colombians paid money).[25]
• Tom Glass, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas[14]

Balagia won the Libertarian nomination

Candidates

Declared

• Jamar Osborne[13]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ken Paxton (R)	Sam Houston (D)	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 10–19, 2014	866	± 3.6%	54%	34%	12%[26]	—
UoT/Texas Tribune	May 30–June 8, 2014	1,200	± 2.83%	40%	27%	6%[27]	27%

Results

Texas Attorney General election, 2014[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ken Paxton	2,737,289	58.8
	Democratic	Sam Houston	1,769,943	38.02
	Libertarian	Jamie Balagia	118,183	2.53
	Green	Jamar Osborne	29,513	0.63
Majority			967,346	20.78%
Total votes			4,654,928	100
Turnout				33.18
	Republican hold

Comptroller of Public Accounts

Incumbent Republican Comptroller Susan Combs retired and did not seek a third term in office.

Candidates

Declared

• Glenn Hegar, state senator[28]
• Harvey Hilderbran, state representative[29]
• Debra Medina, activist and candidate for governor in 2010[30]
• Raul Torres, former state representative[31]

Declined

• Susan Combs, Comptroller of Public Accounts[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Glenn Hegar	Harvey Hilderbran	Debra Medina	Raul Torres	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	February 7–17, 2014	461	±4.56%	24%	26%	39%	11%	—	—
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 18–27, 2013	519	±5.02%	4%	2%	14%	5%	—	75%

Results

Republican primary results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glenn Hegar	612,269	49.99
	Republican	Harvey Hilderbran	318,899	26.04
	Republican	Debra Medina	236,531	19.31
	Republican	Raul Torres	56,937	4.64
Total votes			1,224,636	100

A runoff was to be held, but with Hegar only narrowly below the 50% threshold and with several thousand provisional and overseas ballots to be counted, Hildebran withdrew on March 7, 2014, and endorsed Hegar.[32] When the final results were released, Hegar had come only 50 votes short of winning the primary outright.

Candidates

Declared

• Mike Collier, businessman and accountant[33]

Candidates

Declared

• Ben Sanders[13]

Candidates

Declared

• Deb Shafto, nominee for Governor in 2010[13]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Glenn Hegar (R)	Mike Collier (D)	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 10–19, 2014	866	± 3.6%	49%	34%	17%[34]	—
UoT/Texas Tribune	May 30–June 8, 2014	1,200	± 2.83%	32%	25%	7%[35]	37%

Results

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts election, 2014[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glenn Hegar	2,692,803	58.36
	Democratic	Mike Collier	1,739,308	37.69
	Libertarian	Ben Sanders	136,969	2.96
	Green	Deb Shafto	44,924	0.97
Majority			953,495	20.67%
Total votes			4,614,004	100
Turnout				32.89
	Republican hold

Commissioner of the General Land Office

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Jerry E. Patterson did not run for re-election to a fourth term. He instead ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor.

Candidates

Declared

• George P. Bush, attorney, U.S. Navy Reserve officer and son of former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush[36]
• David Watts, businessman, author, preacher and flight instructor[37]

Declined

• Jerry E. Patterson, Commissioner of the General Land Office[6]

Results

Republican primary results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George P. Bush	937,987	72.99
	Republican	David Watts	346,949	27.00
Total votes			1,284,936	100

Candidates

Declared

• John Cook, former Mayor of El Paso[38]

Candidates

Declared

• Steven Childs[13]
• Justin Knight[13]

Withdrew

• Ed Tidwell, Lago Vista City Councilman[14]

Knight won the Libertarian nomination

Candidates

Declared

• Ulises Cabrera[13]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	George P. Bush (R)	John Cook (D)	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 10–19, 2014	866	± 3.6%	50%	32%	17%[39]	—
UoT/Texas Tribune	May 30–June 8, 2014	1,200	± 2.83%	36%	25%	9%[40]	30%
Public Policy Polling	April 10–13, 2014	559	± 4.1%	50%	32%	—	18%

Results

Texas Commissioner of the General Land Office election, 2014[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George P. Bush	2,821,359	60.68
	Democratic	John Cook	1,641,858	35.31
	Libertarian	Justin Knight	126,203	2.71
	Green	Valerie Alessi	59,992	1.29
Majority			1,179,501	25.37%
Total votes			4,649,412	100
Turnout				33.14
	Republican hold

Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Todd Staples did not run for re-election to a third term. He instead ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor. On September 18, he announced that he would resign within the next two months, to become President of the Texas Oil and Gas Association.[41]

Candidates

Declared

• J. Allen Carnes, Mayor of Uvalde[42]
• Joe Cotten, candidate for Railroad Commission of Texas in 2012[43]
• Tommy Merritt, former state representative[44]
• Sid Miller, former state representative[45]
• Eric Opiela, attorney, rancher and former executive director of the Republican Party of Texas[46]

Withdrew

• Brandon Creighton, state representative (running for the State Senate)[45]

Declined

• Todd Staples, Commissioner of Agriculture[7]

Results

Republican primary results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sid Miller	411,560	34.56
	Republican	Tommy Merritt	249,440	20.94
	Republican	Eric Opiela	207,222	17.40
	Republican	Joe Cotten	174,348	14.64
	Republican	J. Allen Carnes	148,222	12.44
Total votes			1,190,792	100

Runoff

Results

Republican primary runoff results[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sid Miller	362,573	53.08
	Republican	Tommy Merritt	320,434	46.92
Total votes			683,007	100

Candidates

Declared

• Hugh Fitzsimons, rancher and former member of the Winter Garden Water Conservation District[47]
• Kinky Friedman, singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist and Independent candidate for Governor in 2006[48]
• Jim Hogan, farmer and insurance agent[49]

Results

Democratic primary results[50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Hogan	190,090	38.74
	Democratic	Kinky Friedman	185,180	37.74
	Democratic	Hugh Fitzsimons	115,395	23.51
Total votes			490,665	100

Runoff

Results

Democratic primary runoff results[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Hogan	105,763	53.71
	Democratic	Kinky Friedman	91,154	46.29
Total votes			196,917	100

Candidates

Declared

• Rick Donaldson[13]
• David "Rocky" Palmquist, rancher[14]

Palmquist won the Libertarian nomination.

Candidates

Declared

• Kenneth Kendrick, food safety advocate and whistleblower[13]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Sid Miller (R)	Jim Hogan (D)	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 10–19, 2014	866	± 3.6%	47%	35%	18%[51]	—
UoT/Texas Tribune	May 30–June 8, 2014	1,200	± 2.83%	32%	24%	9%[52]	34%

Results

Texas Commissioner of Agriculture election, 2014[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sid Miller	2,693,466	58.58
	Democratic	Jim Hogan	1,694,059	36.84
	Libertarian	David "Rocky" Palmquist	132,299	2.87
	Green	Kenneth Kendrick	77,416	1.68
Majority			999,407	21.74%
Total votes			4,597,240	100
Turnout				32.77
	Republican hold

Railroad Commissioner

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Barry Smitherman did not run for re-election to a full term. He instead ran unsuccessfully for attorney general.

Candidates

Declared

• Becky Berger, geologist and candidate for the Railroad Commission in 2012[53]
• Malachi Boyuls, attorney and venture capitalist[54]
• Wayne Christian, former state representative[55]
• Ryan Sitton, oil and gas engineer and candidate for the Texas House of Representatives in 2012[56]

Withdrew

• Stefani Carter, state representative (running for re-election)[57][13]
• Ray Keller, former state representative[58][13]
• Joe Pool, Jr., candidate for Texas Supreme Court Justice Place 4 in 2012 and son of former U.S. Representative Joe R. Pool[56][13]

Declined

• Barry Smitherman, Chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas[22]

Results

Republican primary results[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wayne Christian	503,634	42.68
	Republican	Ryan Sitton	360,125	30.52
	Republican	Becky Berger	198,672	16.83
	Republican	Malachi Boyuls	117,511	9.95
Total votes			1,179,942	100

Runoff

Results

Republican primary runoff results[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ryan Sitton	398,652	57.25
	Republican	Wayne Christian	297,654	42.75
Total votes			696,306	100

Candidates

Declared

• Steve Brown, former Chairman of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party[59]
• Dale Henry, perennial candidate

Results

Democratic primary results[50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Brown	299,009	64.02
	Democratic	Dale Henry	168,036	35.97
Total votes			467,045	100

Candidates

Declared

• Jason Kute[13]
• Mark Miller, businessman[14]

Miller won the Libertarian nomination.

Candidates

Declared

• Martina Salinas[13]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ryan Sitton (R)	Steve Brown (D)	Other	Undecided
UoT/Texas Tribune	October 10–19, 2014	866	± 3.6%	48%	34%	19%[60]	—
UoT/Texas Tribune	May 30–June 8, 2014	1,200	± 2.83%	32%	24%	10%[61]	33%

Results

Texas Railroad Commissioner election, 2014[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ryan Sitton	2,679,537	58.27
	Democratic	Steve Brown	1,679,658	36.52
	Libertarian	Mark Miller	145,127	3.15
	Green	Kenneth Kendrick	93,988	2.04
Majority			999,879	21.74%
Total votes			4,598,310	100
Turnout				32.78
	Republican hold

Texas Legislature

Every seat in the Texas House of Representatives and about half of the seats in the Texas Senate were up for election.

Texas House of Representatives

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
Before 2014 elections	95	55	150	0
Voting share	63%	37%
After 2014 elections	98	52	150	0
Voting share	65%	35%

Texas Senate

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
Before 2014 elections	19	12	31	0
Voting share	61%	39%
After 2014 elections	20	11	31	0
Voting share	65%	35%

United States Senate

Incumbent Republican Senator and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn ran for re-election to a third term.[62] He won the Republican primary with 59% of the vote, easily turning back a primary challenge from U.S. Representative Steve Stockman and six others. The Democratic primary went to a runoff after businessman David Alameel took 47% of the vote and Worldwide LaRouche Youth Movement activist Kesha Rogers took 22% of the vote. Alameel won the runoff.

In the general election, Cornyn defeated Alameel 61.6%–34.4%.[63]

United States House of Representatives

All of Texas's thirty-six seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2014.

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61. Mark Miller (L) 6%, Martina Salinas (G) 4%
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63. "Office of the Secretary of State 2014 General Election Election Night Returns". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.