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.
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 County results White: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Clements: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Texas |
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 Government |
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.
Primaries
Candidates
- Bill Clements, Incumbent
- Duke Embs
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Clements (incumbent) | 246,120 | 92.58% | |
| Republican | Duke Embs | 19,731 | 7.42% | |
| Total votes | 265,851 | 100.00 | ||
Candidates
- Mark White, Attorney General
- Buddy Temple, Railroad Commissioner
- Bob Armstrong, Former Land Commissioner
- David Young
- Ray Allen Mayo II
- Donald R. Beagle
| 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
| 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
(1) Gubernatorial Debate from September 24, 1982 in Amarillo
(2) White Campaign commercials from October 7, 1982
(3) White Campaign commercials from October 28, 1982
(4) White Campaign commercial from September 29, 1982
(5) White Campaign commercial for the Democratic Primary on April 12, 1982
(6) White Campaign commercial for the Democratic Primary on March 6, 1982
(7) Revised commercial from March 6, 1982
(8) White Campaign commercial for the Democratic Primary on March 23, 1982