# 1990 Texas gubernatorial election

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Texas :
General elections
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1848
1852
1856
1860
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate
1846
1847
1851
1853
1857
1859
1859 sp
1870
1871
1875
1876
1881
1882
1887
1888
1892 sp
1893
1894
1899
1901
1905
1907
1911
1913
1913 sp
1916
1918
1922
1924
1928
1930
1934
1936
1940
1941 sp
1942
1946
1948
1952
1954
1957 sp
1958
1960
1961 sp
1964
1966
1970
1972
1976
1978
1982
1984
1988
1990
1993 sp
1994
1996
2000
2002
2006
2008
2012
2014
2018
2020
2024
2026
U.S. House of Representatives
1846
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1866
1869
1870
1871
1872
1874
1876
1878
1879
6th sp
1880
1882
1884
1886
1887
2nd sp
1888
1890
1892
9th sp
1894
1896
11th sp
1898
1900
1901
6th sp
1902
4th sp
1903
8th sp
1904
1905
8th sp
1906
1908
1910
1912
1913
10th sp
1914
1916
1918
1919
12th sp
1920
1922
13th sp
1924
1926
1928
1930
17th sp
1931
14th sp
1932
1933
7th sp
8th sp
15th sp
1934
1936
1937
10th sp
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
6th sp
1947
9th sp
16th sp
1948
15th sp
1950
18th sp
1951
13th sp
1952
7th sp
1954
1956
1958
1960
1961
20th sp
1962
4th sp
13th sp
1963
10th sp
1964
1966
8th sp
1968
3rd sp
1970
1972
1974
1976
1st sp
22nd sp
1978
1980
1982
1983
6th sp
1984
1985
1st sp
1986
1988
1989
12th sp
18th sp
1990
1991
3rd sp
1992
1994
1996
1997
28th sp
1998
2000
2002
2003
19th sp
2004
2006
22nd
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
27th sp
2020
2021
6th sp
2022
34th sp
2024
18th sp :
State government
Gubernatorial elections
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1861
1863
1866
1866
1869
1873
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Attorney General elections
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Comptroller elections
2010
2014
2018
2022
Senate elections
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Constitutional amendments
1972
2005
2007
2021
2023 :
Austin
Mayoral elections
2003
2006
2009
2012
2014
2018
2022
2024
Austin municipal elections
2022
2024 :
Corpus Christi
Mayoral elections
2012
2014
2016
2017 sp
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Dallas–Fort Worth
Arlington mayoral elections
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023
Dallas mayoral elections
1856
1857
1875
1904
1925
1961
1963
1965
1995
1999
2002 sp
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
Dallas municipal elections
2015
2019
2021
Fort Worth mayoral elections
2003
2007
2009
2011
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023
Denton mayoral elections
2020
2022
Plano municipal elections
2017
2019
2021 :
El Paso
Mayoral elections
2001
2003
2005
2009
2013
2017
2020
2024
Municipal elections
2017
2020
2024 :
Houston
Mayoral elections
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2019
2023
Municipal elections
2005
2007
2009 :
Laredo
Mayoral elections
2018
2022 :
Lubbock
Mayoral elections
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
San Antonio
Mayoral elections
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023
2025 :
Government :
vte :
The 1990 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Clements did not run for re-election, so the election pitted Democrat Ann Richards against Republican Clayton Williams. Richards narrowly defeated Williams on Election Day, winning 49.5% of the vote to Williams' 46.9%. As of 2024, this is also the most recent time the Democratic candidate has carried Collingsworth, Childress, Wilbarger, Wichita, Archer, Throckmorton, Montague, Wise, Tarrant, Grayson, Lamar, Hopkins, Titus, Bowie, Harrison, Panola, Shelby, Jasper, Hardin, Angelina, Polk, Houston, Madison, Walker, Kaufman, Navarro, Henderson, Hill, McLennan, Williamson, Burleson, Waller, and Refugio counties. As of 2024, this is the last time a Democrat and a woman was elected Governor of Texas, as well as the most recent Texas gubernatorial election in which both major parties' nominees have since died.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Clayton Williams, Midland oil and gas businessman
* Kent Hance, Railroad Commissioner, former Democratic U.S. representative from Lubbock, and candidate in 1986
* Tom Luce, attorney and advisor to H. Ross Perot
* Jack Rains, Houston attorney and former secretary of state (1987–1989)
* W.N. Otwell
* Royce Owens
* Ed Cude

#### Declined

* George W. Bush, son of President George H. W. Bush and part-owner of the Texas Rangers
* T. Boone Pickens, billionaire oilman and corporate takeover specialist
T. Boone Pickens, CEO of Mesa Petroleum in Amarillo, was considered a likely candidate for much of 1989. However, on August 30, 1989, Pickens announced at a luncheon in Dallas that he would not run for the governorship in 1990. But Pickens, who also announced he would be relocating from Amarillo to Dallas, said he would consider a run for the governorship in 1994.
George W. Bush, who had just become part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club, also declined to run for governor after briefly exploring a run for the governorship in 1990. He did so on the advice of his mother.

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Clayton Williams | 520,014 | 60.80 |
| | Republican | Kent Hance | 132,142 | 14.35 |
| | Republican | Tom Luce | 115,835 | 13.54 |
| | Republican | Jack Rains | 82,461 | 9.64 |
| | Republican | W. N. Otwell | 2,310 | 0.27 |
| | Republican | Royce X. Owens | 1,392 | 0.16 |
| | Republican | Ed Cude | 1,077 | 0.13 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 855,231 | 100.00 |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Ann Richards, Texas State Treasurer
* Jim Mattox, Texas Attorney General and former U.S. representative
* Mark White, former governor (1983–1987)
* Theresa Hearn-Haynes
* Earl Holmes
* Stanley Adams
* Ray Rachal

### Results

Richards and Mattox came very close to each other in the first round of the primary, with Richards securing the first place by just 0.29% of the vote. She performed the best in Travis County, of which Austin, the capital of Texas, is the county seat. In contrast, Mattox showed his best results in several counties in northern portion of the state. He repeated this feat in the runoff election, but ceded ground significantly across the state to Richards, who beat him by 14.18% of the vote.
Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ann Richards | 580,191 | 39.01 |
| | Democratic | Jim Mattox | 546,103 | 38.72 |
| | Democratic | Mark White | 288,161 | 19.38 |
| | Democratic | Theresa Hearn-Haynes | 31,395 | 2.11 |
| | Democratic | Earl Holmes | 17,904 | 1.20 |
| | Democratic | Stanley Adams | 16,118 | 1.08 |
| | Democratic | Ray Rachal | 9,388 | 0.63 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,487,734 | 100.00 |

### Runoff

Democratic primary runoff results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ann Richards | 640,995 | 57.09 |
| | Democratic | Jim Mattox | 481,739 | 42.91 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,122,734 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Campaign

Williams handily won the Republican primary. Williams's vote total exceeded that of his nearest challenger, former Congressman and soon-to-be-former Railroad Commissioner Kent Hance by more than 45 percentage points. Meanwhile, Democrat Ann Richards placed first in a six-person primary that included Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox and former governor Mark White, the latter of whom sought to return to the governor's mansion four years after losing his bid to remain Governor of Texas.
Williams spent freely from his personal fortune, running a "Good Old Boy" campaign initially appealing to conservatives. Prior to a series of gaffes, he was leading Richards (the race was dubbed "Claytie vs. The Lady") in the polls and was in striking distance of becoming only the second Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction. Meanwhile, Libertarian nominee Jeff Daiell was launching a TV campaign which, combined with personal appearances across Texas, boosted him to a showing of 129,128 votes. His drawing power made Richards the first Texas governor in many years elected without a majority.
In one of his widely publicized missteps, Williams refused to shake hands with Ann Richards in a public debate, an act seen as uncouth. Earlier, Williams made an infamous joke to reporters, likening bad weather to rape, having quipped: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it". In addition, it has been claimed that as an undergraduate at Texas A&M, he had participated in visits to the Chicken Ranch, a well-known Texas brothel in La Grange, and the Boy's Towns of Mexico. As a result of his reported comments, Williams was occasionally parodied, such as in the mock political ad, "Satan Williams", which appeared on Dallas/Fort Worth public television during the 1990 campaign season. Richards was sworn-in as the 45th governor of Texas on January 15, 1991.

### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ann Richards | 1,925,670 | 49.47% |
| | Republican | Clayton Williams | 1,826,431 | 46.92% |
| | Libertarian | Jeff Daiell | 129,128 | 3.32% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,881,229 | 100.00% |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |