1978 Texas gubernatorial election

The 1978 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978, to elect the governor of Texas. In a surprising upset, Republican Bill Clements was narrowly elected over Democratic State Attorney General John Luke Hill, winning 50% of the vote to Hill's 49%. In doing so, Clements became the first Republican to be elected governor since Reconstruction in 1869.

1978 Texas gubernatorial election

November 7, 1978

Nominee Bill Clements John Luke Hill Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,183,828 1,166,919 Percentage 50.0% 49.2%

County results Clements:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Hill:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Compeán:      50–60%

Governor before election Dolph Briscoe Democratic Elected Governor Bill Clements Republican

Besides Clements' upset victory in the gubernatorial election, Republican Senator John Tower was re-elected to a third full six-year term in the Texas U.S. Senate race. However, the majority of the down-ballot statewide offices remained with the Democratic Party. With a margin of victory of just 0.72%, this was the closest race of the 1978 Gubernatorial Cycle. This is the last time Zavala County did not vote for the Democratic candidate, instead voting for Raza Unida.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Bill Clements, businessman and former Deputy U.S. Secretary of Defense
• Ray Hutchison, attorney, former State Representative and husband of Kay Bailey Hutchison
• Clarence Thompson

Withdrew

• James M. Collins, U.S. Representative from Dallas (endorsed Clements)

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Clements	115,345	72.82
	Republican	Ray Hutchison	38,268	24.16
	Republican	Clarence Thompson	4,790	3.02
Total votes			158,403	100.00

Democratic primary

Dolph Briscoe, who had first been elected in 1972 and was easily re-elected in 1974, had become increasingly unpopular within the Texas Democratic Party during his six years in office. John Luke Hill fielded a primary challenge against the Governor, as a liberal alternative to Briscoe, who represented the more conservative, rural faction of the party. Dissatisfaction with Briscoe prompted former Governor Preston Smith to enter the race, running as a populist alternative to the other two candidates. Briscoe had previously defeated Smith in the 1972 primary.

Candidates

Declared

• Dolph Briscoe, incumbent Governor
• John Luke Hill, Attorney General of Texas
• Preston Smith, former Governor

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Luke Hill	932,245	52.44%
	Democratic	Dolph Briscoe (incumbent)	753,309	42.37%
	Democratic	Preston Smith	92,202	5.19%
Total votes			1,777,756	100

General election

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Clements	1,183,828	49.96
	Democratic	John Luke Hill	1,166,919	49.24
	Raza Unida	Mario C. Compeán	14,213	0.59
	Socialist Workers	Sara Johnston	4,624	0.19
Total votes			2,369,999	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

Further reading

• Bridges, Kenneth. Twilight of the Texas Democrats: The 1978 Governor’s Race (Texas A&M University Press, 2008), 219 pp.
• Cunningham, Sean P. Cowboy Conservatism: Texas and the Rise of the Modern Right. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010.

Videos

(1) Bill Clements bio [1]

(2) Gubernatorial Debate on October 24, 1978 at KPRC-TV Studios in Houston [2]

(3) Republican Primary Gubernatorial Debate in 1978 [3]

(4) Gubernatorial Debate on October 27, 1978 at KERA-TV Studios in Dallas [4]