# 1978 Texas gubernatorial election

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
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Government :
vte :
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.
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 | 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 | Total votes | 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 | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 1,777,756 | 100 |

## General election
### Results

General election results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 2,369,999 | 100.00 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |