The 1994 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to elect the

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, who ...

. Incumbent Democratic Governor

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, ...

was defeated in her bid for re-election by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, the son of former President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

. Before the election, Richards had a high approval rating due to the strength of the state economy. However, Bush's campaigning on cultural and religious issues resonated with many Texan voters, and the race was considered a tossup on election day. 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 Texas gubernatorial election, though the party was more successful in other statewide offices: Lieutenant Governor

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

, Attorney General

Dan Morales Daniel C. Morales (born April 24, 1956) is an American politician. He served as the 48th Texas Attorney General, Attorney General of Texas from January 15, 1991 through January 13, 1999, during the administrations of Governor of Texas, Governors ...

, Land Commissioner

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 (Texas politician), Mark White, Bill Clements, ...

and Comptroller John Sharp all won reelection. Bush's victory was one of the most notable in the 1994

Republican Revolution The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are political slogans that refer to the Republican Party (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. mid-term elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of ...

, as he was one of four candidates to defeat an incumbent governor that cycle.

Primaries

Republican

Democratic

Campaign

On June 11, 1994, 54 delegates met at the

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

state convention to statewide nominees. Keary Ehlers was given the gubernatorial nomination and the other statewide nominees were selected on June 12.

Tom Pauken Thomas Weir Pauken (born January 11, 1944) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. Pauken is a former member and chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. A former long-term resident of Dallas, who now resides in the reso ...

, the chairman of the

Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Texas. It is currently chaired by Matt Rinaldi, succeeding Allen West who resigned prior to the expiration of his term to run for governo ...

, stated that Keary Ehlers should withdraw to help Bush win the election. Jay Manifold, the chairman of the Libertarian Party of Texas, stated that Bush should withdraw to help Ehlers win the election in response.

Polling

Endorsements

Results

References

{{George W. Bush

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

George W. Bush