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Texas Attorney General election, 2014
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March 4, 2014 |
November 4, 2014 |
Ken Paxton |
Greg Abbott |
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The Texas Attorney General election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Greg Abbott (R) was first elected in 2002 and was running for governor instead of seeking re-election.[1] The race to replace Abbott featured Republican candidate Ken Paxton, Democratic candidate Sam Houston, Libertarian Party candidate Jamie Balagia and Green Party candidate Jamar Osborne. Ken Paxton won election to a four-year term in office.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary. The voter must sign a pledge stating the following (the language below is taken directly from state statutes)[2]
| “ | The following pledge shall be placed on the primary election ballot above the listing of candidates' names: 'I am a (insert appropriate political party) and understand that I am ineligible to vote or participate in another political party's primary election or convention during this voting year.'[3] | ” |
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Candidates
General election
Ken Paxton - State Senator[4]
Sam Houston - Attorney[5]
Jamie Balagia[6][7]
Jamar Osborne[8]
Filed for other office
Greg Abbott - Incumbent
Lost primary or at convention
Dan Branch - State Representative[9]
Barry Smitherman - Current state Railroad Commissioner[10]
Tom Glass - Vice Chairman of the Texas Libertarian Party[11][7]
Declined
Carlos Uresti - State Senator[12]
Results
General election
| Attorney General of Texas, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Ken Paxton |
58.8% | 2,742,646 | |
| Democrat | Sam Houston | 38% | 1,773,108 | |
| Libertarian | Jamie Balagia | 2.5% | 118,186 | |
| Green | Jamar Osborne | 0.6% | 29,590 | |
| Total Votes | 4,663,530 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Runoff
| Texas Attorney General Republican Runoff, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Ken Paxton |
65% | 489,586 | ||
| Dan Branch | 35% | 263,194 | ||
| Total Votes | 752,780 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State. | ||||
Primary election
Republican primary
| Texas Attorney General Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Ken Paxton |
44.5% | 569,034 | ||
| Dan Branch |
33.4% | 428,034 | ||
| Barry Smitherman | 22.1% | 282,701 | ||
| Total Votes | 1,279,769 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State. | ||||
Democratic primary
- Uncontested
Race background
Runoff ad controversy
In late May 2014, a Virginia non-profit, American Dream Initiative, began to run television advertisements against Paxton without disclosing its funding or backers. The ad highlighted a recent fine levied against Paxton by the Texas State Securities Board for improper investment-related registration and disclosure. The Paxton campaign alleged that the $532,000 ad campaign demonstrated collusion with the Branch campaign that violated federal election laws. The Branch campaign denied breaking either federal or state election laws.[13]
Polls
General election
| Attorney General of Texas | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Ken Paxton (R) | Sam Houston (D) | Jamar Osborne (G) | Jamie Balagia (L) | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| University of Texas/Texas Tribune October 10-19, 2014 | 54% | 34% | 8% | 4% | +/-3.33 | 866 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Primary election
| Texas Attorney General - Republican Primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Barry Smitherman | Ken Paxton | Dan Branch | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll February 7-17, 2014 | 19% | 39% | 42% | +/-5.37 | 543 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Attorney General - Republican Primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Barry Smitherman | Ken Paxton | Dan Branch | Don't Know | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll October 18-27, 2013 | 11% | 10% | 5% | 74% | +/-5.37 | 1,200 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Past elections
2010
| Texas Attorney General, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Greg Abbott Incumbent |
64.1% | 3,151,064 | |
| Democratic | Barbara Ann Radnofsky | 33.7% | 1,655,859 | |
| Libertarian | Jon Roland | 2.3% | 112,118 | |
| Total Votes | 4,919,041 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State | ||||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Greg Abbott won re-election to the office of Texas Attorney General. He defeated David Van Os (D) and Jon Roland (L) in the general election.
| Texas Attorney General, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Greg Abbott Incumbent |
59.5% | 2,556,063 | |
| Democratic | David Van Os | 37.2% | 1,599,069 | |
| Libertarian | Jon Roland | 3.3% | 139,668 | |
| Total Votes | 4,294,800 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State. | ||||
2002
| Texas Attorney General, 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Greg Abbott Incumbent |
56.7% | 2,542,184 | |
| Democratic | Kirk Watson | 41.1% | 1,841,359 | |
| Libertarian | Jon Roland | 1.3% | 56,880 | |
| Green | David Keith Cobb | 0.9% | 41,560 | |
| Total Votes | 4,481,983 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign finance
Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $17,677,754 during the election. This information was last updated on April 9, 2015.[14]
| Campaign Contribution Totals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| Ken Paxton |
Texas Attorney General | $8,337,345 | ||
| Dan Branch |
Texas Attorney General | $7,868,501 | ||
| Barry Smitherman |
Texas Attorney General | $877,350 | ||
| Sam Houston |
Texas Attorney General | $594,538 | ||
| Jamie Balagia |
Texas Attorney General | $20 | ||
| Jamar Osborne |
Texas Attorney General | $0 | ||
| Grand Total Raised | $17,677,754 | |||
Key deadlines
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| December 9, 2013 | Filing deadline for candidates |
| March 4, 2014 | Primary election |
| May 27, 2014 | Primary run-off election |
| November 4, 2014 | General election |
| January 20, 2015 | Inauguration |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Texas + attorney + general + elections"
See also
- Texas Attorney General
- Texas state executive official elections, 2014
- State executive official elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "AG Abbott formally kicks off gubernatorial bid," July 14, 2013
- ↑ Texas Statutes, "Section 172.086," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Ken Paxton Announces Bid for Attorney General," August 1, 2013
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Democrat announces bid for Attorney General," October 17, 2013
- ↑ Libertarian Party of Texas, " 2014 Texas statewide offices," accessed December 10, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Independent Political Report, "Texas, Wisconsin Libertarian Conventions This Weekend," 4/11/2014
- ↑ Green Party of Texas, "Press Release: 50 Candidates File to Run as Greens in Texas," December 10, 2013
- ↑ Austin Statesman, "Branch announces candidacy for attorney general," July 23, 2013
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Smitherman to Announce Run For Attorney General," June 24, 2013
- ↑ KENS5, "Libertarian Kathie Glass announces bid for Texas governor," October 2, 2013
- ↑ My San Antonio, "Uresti opts out of AG race in 2014," November 26, 2013
- ↑ Austin American-Statesman, "Out-of-state ad roils Texas attorney general race," May 22, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of Texas 2014 elections," accessed April 10, 2015
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