2018 Texas gubernatorial election

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The 2018 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to choose Texas’ governor. Incumbent Republican Greg Abbott won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Lupe Valdez and Libertarian nominee Mark Tippetts.

Primaries
- Republican: Greg Abbott won the nomination with about 90% of the vote.
- Democratic: Lupe Valdez and Andrew White advanced to a May 22 runoff, which Valdez won 53.1% of the vote. Valdez then faced Abbott in the general election. Valdez became the first openly gay major-party nominee for Texas governor.
- Libertarian: Mark Tippetts was nominated at the Libertarian Party of Texas convention in April 2018, receiving strong support on the first ballot.

General election results
- Abbott won with 55.81% of the vote (4,656,196 votes) to Valdez’s 42.51% (3,546,615 votes).
- Turnout was about 53% of registered voters.
- Abbott won 25 of 36 congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats.
- Voter breakdown by race: Abbott won white voters 72% to 26%. Valdez won African American voters 80% to 16% and Latino voters 63% to 35%.
- Valdez’s candidacy marked a historically strong showing for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Texas, and Abbott achieved the largest margin of victory for any Texas state executive on the ballot that year. The race occurred alongside a high-profile U.S. Senate contest between Beto O’Rourke and Ted Cruz, which may have influenced voter dynamics.