1982 Texas gubernatorial election

The 1982 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Clements ran for reelection, but was defeated in the general election by Democrat Mark White, winning 46% of the vote to White's 53%. White was sworn into office on January 18, 1983.

1982 Texas gubernatorial election

← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →
 
Nominee Mark White Bill Clements
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,697,870 1,465,937
Percentage 53.2% 45.9%

County results
White:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Clements:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

Bill Clements
Republican

Elected Governor

Mark White
Democratic

White carried 196 out of 254 counties. As of 2023, this is the last time a Democrat won a majority of the vote in a Texas gubernatorial election, or carried Carson, Oldham, Donley, Wheeler, Castro, Floyd, Motley, Lamb, Hockley, Terry, Cochran, Lynn, Garza, Kent, King, Gaines, Dawson, Martin, Howard, Coke, Runnels, Coleman, Brown, Callahan, Eastland, Shackelford, Stephens, Young, Jack, Erath, Hood, Somervell, Parker, Johnson, Ellis, Hunt, Franklin, Wood, Upshur, Van Zandt, Nacogdoches, Cherokee, Anderson, Freestone, Leon, Brazos, San Jacinto, Liberty, Lee, Washington, Austin, Fayette, Colorado, Wharton, Lavaca, Jackson, Matagorda, Brazoria, Goliad, Wilson, Karnes, Atascosa, Gonzales, Bell, Coryell, Bosque, Hamilton, Lampasas, Mills, San Saba, McCulloch, Concho, Llano, Burnet, Schleicher, Real, Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Reagan, Upton, Crane, Winkler, Ward, or Brewster counties.

Primaries

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Republican

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Candidates

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Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bill Clements (incumbent) 246,120 92.58%
Republican Duke Embs 19,731 7.42%
Total votes 265,851 100.00

Democratic

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Candidates

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Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark White 592,658 44.94
Democratic Buddy Temple 402,693 30.54
Democratic Bob Armstrong 262,189 19.88
Democratic David Young 25,386 1.93
Democratic Ray Allen Mayo II 20,088 1.52
Democratic Donald R. Beagle 15,649 1.19
Total votes 1,318,663 100.00

Temple refused to participate in the runoff, causing White to win by default.

Results

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General election Results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark White 1,697,870 53.20
Republican Bill Clements (incumbent) 1,465,937 45.94
Libertarian David Hutzelman 19,143 0.60
Independent Bob Poteet 8,065 0.19
Total votes 3,191,091 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican

Videos

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(1) Gubernatorial Debate from September 24, 1982 in Amarillo [1]

(2) White Campaign commercials from October 7, 1982 [2]

(3) White Campaign commercials from October 28, 1982 [3]

(4) White Campaign commercial from September 29, 1982 [4]

(5) White Campaign commercial for the Democratic Primary on April 12, 1982 [5]

(6) White Campaign commercial for the Democratic Primary on March 6, 1982 [6]

(7) Revised commercial from March 6, 1982 [7]

(8) White Campaign commercial for the Democratic Primary on March 23, 1982 [8]

(9) Gubernatorial Debate from October 11, 1982 in Austin [9]

References

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