The 2018 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 6, 2018, along with other elections to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in additional states. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas fro ...

ran successfully for re-election to a second term against Democratic candidate

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senat ...

. The primary for all parties was held on March 6, 2018, making it the first primary of the 2018 season. As Cruz and O'Rourke both won majorities in their primaries, they did not participate in the May 22 runoff primary that was held for some nominations in Texas. No Democrat has won a general election for statewide office in Texas since

Bob Bullock Robert Douglas Bullock Sr. (July 10, 1929 – June 18, 1999), was an American Democratic politician from Texas, whose career spanned four decades. His service culminated in his term as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of Texas from January 15, ...

was reelected as lieutenant governor in 1994, with election forecasters declaring it a safe Republican seat at the beginning of the 2018 cycle. However, O'Rourke gradually closed the gap, and leading up to the election, the race was considered unexpectedly competitive. On Election Day, Cruz defeated O'Rourke by a margin just short of 215,000 votes, or 2.6 percent; the race was the closest U.S. Senate race in Texas since

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

Background

In 2012, after a stunning upset victory in the Republican primary, then-Solicitor General of Texas

defeated former member of the Texas House of Representatives

Paul Sadler Paul Lindsey Sadler (born April 29, 1955) is an American attorney from Henderson, Texas, now residing in Bandera, Texas who served from 1991 to 2003 in the Texas House of Representatives. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States ...

by a 16-point margin (56%–40%). Texas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988. As conservatives began turning to the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

in once strongly Democratic areas, Democratic voters became concentrated in Southern Texas (which hold

majority minority A majority-minority or minority-majority area is a term used to refer to a subdivision in which one or more racial, ethnic, and/or religious minorities (relative to the whole country's population) make up a majority of the local population. Ter ...

counties) and large metropolitan cities, such as

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

, and

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, as well as the far western majority-minority city of El Paso, which O'Rourke represented in the U.S. House. Since 1990, Texas has voted for Republican statewide candidates in all elections, whether it be presidential, gubernatorial, or senatorial, often by large margins. In 1998, Governor George W. Bush won re-election by 37 points over his Democratic challenger,

Garry Mauro Garry Mauro (born February 21, 1948) is an American politician. He was the four-term commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 1983 to 1999 during the administrations of Governors Mark White, Bill Clements, Ann Richards, and George W ...

. In 2000, Governor Bush won Texas by 21 points over Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...

. In 2004, President Bush won Texas over Senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

by 23 points, winning rural areas by landslide margins, capturing urban zones, and coming very close to winning the Latino vote (49% to Kerry's 50%). Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

was defeated by margins of 12 points in 2008, against

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

, and 16 points in 2012, against

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

, respectively. However, in 2016,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

defeated Democrat

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

by only a 9-point margin, demonstrating a possible shift away from the Safe Republican status it had held for over a decade. This has led Democrats to begin targeting Texas as a potential future swing state. It should also be noted that Ted Cruz defeated Donald Trump in the Texas Republican primary for U.S. President in 2016. As of June 2018, Senator Cruz held a 49%–44% approval rating among Texans in a state Donald Trump won by 9 points against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Among groups that tend to affiliate themselves more with the Democratic Party, Senator Cruz held a 29% approval rating among Hispanics, 37% among females, and 42% among college-educated voters.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent U.S. Senator and former

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

for president in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Eliminated in primary

*Bruce Jacobson, television producer * Mary Miller, CPA * Geraldine Sam, former mayor of

La Marque La Marque ( ) is a city in Galveston County, Texas, south of Houston. The city population in 2020 was 18,030. It is a part of the Greater Houston, Houston- The Woodlands- Sugar Land metropolitan area. La Marque experienced considerable growth in ...

* Stefano de Stefano, attorney

Failed to qualify

* Thomas Dillingham, businessman

Withdrew

* Dan McQueen, former mayor of Corpus Christi

Declined

George P. Bush George Prescott Bush (born April 24, 1976) is an American politician and attorney who served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Bush unsuccessfully campaigned for the party's ...

Texas Land Commissioner The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency of the U.S. state of Texas, responsible for managing lands and mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's Permanent School Fund. T ...

( running for re-election) *

Michael McCaul Michael Thomas McCaul Sr. (born January 14, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the House Committee on Homeland Security during the 113 ...

, U.S. Representative * Dan Patrick,

Lieutenant Governor of Texas The lieutenant governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662& ...

( running for re-election) *

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republic ...

Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...

, former

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, w ...

and candidate for president in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and 2016 *

Katrina Pierson Katrina Lanette Pierson (née Shaddix; born ) is an American activist and communications consultant. She was the national spokesperson for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Early life and education Pierson was born in Kansas to a whit ...

, national spokesperson for the Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016 and candidate for House district TX-32 in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

, U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

*Sema Hernandez, activist and organizer for the

Poor People's Campaign The Poor People's Campaign, or Poor People's March on Washington, was a 1968 effort to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States. It was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S ...

, baseball coach and small business owner *Edward Kimbrough

Declined

Joaquin Castro Joaquin Castro (born September 16, 1974) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who has represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013. The district includes just over half of hi ...

, U.S. Representative *

Julian Castro Julián Castro ( , ; born September 16, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician from San Antonio. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the youngest member of President Obama's cabinet, serving as the 16th United States Secretary of Ho ...

, former

U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succ ...

and Mayor of San Antonio * Wendy Davis, former state senator and nominee for governor in

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian nomination

Candidates

Nominated

* Neal Dikeman, businessman

Independents

Candidates

Declared

* Carl Bible, nurse * Jonathan Jenkins, tech entrepreneur * Bob McNeil, businessman (American Citizen Party)

Declined

Matthew Dowd Matthew John Dowd (born May 29, 1961) is an American political pundit and consultant. He was the chief strategist for the Bush–Cheney 2004 presidential campaign and was an ABC News political analyst. On September 29, 2021, he announced a run fo ...

, former strategist for President George W. Bush

Notes

General election

Predictions

;Notes

Debates

Complete video of debate
September 21, 2018
Complete video of debate
October 16, 2018

Endorsements

Fundraising

In the third quarter of 2018, O'Rourke raised $38.1 million. This amount was the largest quarterly total raised by a U.S. Senate candidate until

Jaime Harrison Jaime R. Harrison (; born February 5, 1976) is an American attorney and politician who is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He previously served as the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017. Harrison uns ...

raised $57 million in the third quarter of 2020 in the South Carolina election. Cruz and O'Rourke combined to raise a record-setting total of $126 million during the 2018 campaign.

Polling

Results

On November 6, 2018, Ted Cruz defeated Beto O'Rourke. However, O'Rourke gave Democrats their best performance in a Texas statewide election since

Ann Richards Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, w ...

was elected governor in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

. In addition, O'Rourke flipped several counties in Texas that Donald Trump carried in 2016, including Williamson (includes

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...

and Georgetown), historically conservative Tarrant (includes

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

and suburbs within the

DFW metroplex DFW may refer to: Businesses *, an early twentieth century German aircraft manufacturer *Dutch FilmWorks, a film distributor *Duty Free World, a US-based in-flight shopping company Government agencies *Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass ...

), Jefferson (includes

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

and Port Arthur), Nueces (includes Corpus Christi), sparsely populated Brewster (includes

Big Bend National Park Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after ...

), and Hays (includes San Marcos). Cruz only flipped one county that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, sparsely populated Kenedy (coastal region south of Corpus Christi).

By county

;Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic * Brewster (largest municipality:

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

) * Fort Bend (largest municipality:

Sugar Land Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...

) *

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...

(largest municipality:

) * Hays (largest municipality: San Marcos) * Nueces (largest municipality: Corpus Christi) * Tarrant (largest municipality:

) * Williamson (largest municipality:

)

By congressional district

Cruz won 20 of 36 congressional districts; O'Rourke won the other 16, including three held by Republicans.

Notes

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

Candidates
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Campaign finance
at FEC
Campaign finance
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

;Official campaign websites
Ted Cruz (R) for SenateNeal Dikeman (L) for SenateBob McNeil (Am. Citizen)Beto O'Rourke (D) for Senate
{{Elections in Texas footer Ted Cruz Beto O'Rourke

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...