The 2014 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican governor Rick Perry, who had served since the resignation of then-Governor George W. Bush on December 21, 2000, declined to run for an unprecedented fourth full term, making this the first open election for governor of the state since 1990.
The election took place between nominees who were selected on March 4, 2014: Republican State Attorney General Greg Abbott and Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis. Also on the ballot were Libertarian Party candidate Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Brandon Parmer. Abbott was projected to carry the election, and ultimately won handily with a 20.4 percentage point advantage. As of 2022, this is the most recent gubernatorial election in which Bexar, Harris and Hays counties voted Republican and in which Frio, Jim Wells, and Val Verde counties voted Democratic. Exit polls showed Abbott winning Whites (72% to 25%), while Davis received majorities among African Americans (92% to 7%) and Hispanics (55% to 44%). Abbott won roughly half of Hispanic men, 54% of all women, and 62% of married women.
Abbott took office on January 20, 2015, as the 48th governor of Texas.
Kathie Glass was nominated at the 2014 party convention.
The first of two confirmed gubernatorial debates between Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott took place at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance at 18:00 on Friday, September 19, co-hosted by KGBT-TV, The Monitor and KTLM-TV. KGBT-TV posted the complete video online and can be viewed here. The debate took place in Edinburg, Texas, and it gave both candidates an opportunity to appeal to the Hispanic community, a grouping seen by Reuters as an "increasingly important voting bloc in Texas." The second debate took place on September 30 and was also posted online.
With Castro<br />
With Davis<br />
With Parker<br />
With White<br />
Abbott won 25 of 36 congressional districts.