Texas gubernatorial election, 1978
Texas gubernatorial election, 1978
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Results by county |
|
The 1978 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978 to elect the Governor of Texas. In a surprising upset, Republican Bill Clements was narrowly elected over Democrat State Attorney General John Luke Hill, winning 50% of the vote to Hill's 49%. In doing so, Clements became the first Republican to be elected governor since Reconstruction.
Primaries
Republican Party
Candidates in the Republican Party who pursued gubernatorial bids in 1978 included:
Collins ultimately abandoned his bid and endorsed Clements, who faced Hutchison in the primary on May 6. Clements won the primary with 73% of the vote to Hutchison's 24%.
Democratic Party
Candidates in the Democratic Party who pursued gubernatorial bids in 1978 included:
Dolph Briscoe, who had first been elected in 1972 and was easily re-elected in 1974, had become increasingly unpopular within the Texas Democratic Party during his six years in office. John Luke Hill fielded a primary challenge against the Governor, as a liberal alternative to Briscoe, who represented the more conservative, rural faction of the party. Dissatisfaction with Briscoe prompted former Governor Preston Smith to enter the race, running as a populist alternative to the other two candidates. Briscoe had previously defeated Smith in the 1972 primary.
Results
Further reading
- Bridges, Kenneth William. "The twilight of the Texas democrats: The 1978 governor's race", Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Texas, 2003, 281 pages; AAT 3117260 in ProQuest
References
- ↑ Texas Almanac
