Governor Greg Abbott has earned another four years on the job.
On Tuesday night, Abbott easily defeated Democrat Lupe Valdez and Libertarian Mark Tippetts to retain the governorship, 56 percent to 42 percent. Tippetts won about 2 percent of the vote.
The victory means Abbott will retain Republican control of the governor’s mansion through 2022. Democrats had a long contest to choose a challenger for Abbott, with Valdez and Houston businessman Andrew White advancing to a runoff in May, after besting a large field of candidates. Valdez narrowly defeated White to earn her place in the general election.
Locally, Abbott won the support of a large number of voters. Abbott won 71 percent of the vote in Potter County and 82 percent of the vote in Randall County. These numbers were down from his 2014 numbers, when Abbott won 77 percent of the vote in Potter County and 85 percent in Randall County against Democrat Wendy Davis and Libertarian Kathie Glass.
Overall, Abbott’s showing was smaller than the first time he ran for governor in 2014. In that race, Abbott won 59 percent of the vote statewide, topping Davis and Glass at 39 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
