Texas gubernatorial election, 1994

Texas gubernatorial election, 1994

November 8, 1994

Candidate George W. Bush Ann Richards Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,350,994 2,016,928 Percentage 53.48% 45.88%

County Results

Governor before election Ann Richards Democratic Elected Governor George W. Bush Republican

The 1994 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994 to elect the Governor of Texas. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ann Richards was defeated in her bid for reelection by Republican nominee George W. Bush, the son of former President George H. W. Bush.

On election day, Bush carried 188 of the state's 254 counties, while Richards carried 66. Exit polls revealed that Bush won overwhelmingly among white voters (69% to 31%) while Richards performed well among African Americans (83% to 15%) and Latinos (75% to 25%). The 1994 election marked the last time that a Democrat won more than 45% of the vote in a gubernatorial election and was the last election in which the Democrats won any statewide offices.

Primaries

Republican

Republican Primary Results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Bush	520,130	93.32%
	Republican	Ray Hollis	37,210	6.68%
Total votes			557,340	100.00%

Democratic

Democratic Primary Results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ann Richards (Inc.)	806,607	77.79%
	Democratic	Gary Espinosa	230,337	22.21%
Total votes			1,036,944	100.00%

Polling

Source	Date	Bush (R)	Richards (D)
KPRC-TV	Nov. 4, 1994	48%	44%
Houston Post/KHOU-TV	Nov. 2, 1994	44%	47%
KPRC-TV	Oct. 23, 1994	47%	44%
Houston Post/KHOU-TV	Oct. 7, 1994	43%	41%

Results

General Election Results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Bush	2,350,994	53.48%
	Democratic	Ann Richards (Inc.)	2,016,928	45.88%
	Libertarian	Keary Ehlers	28,320	0.64%
Total votes			4,396,242	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic