1982 Texas gubernatorial election

1982 Texas gubernatorial election
	County results ; White: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Clements: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Bill Clements; Republican	Elected Governor ; Mark White; Democratic

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.

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, or carried Carson, Oldham, Donley, Wheeler, Castro, Floyd, Motley, Lamb, Hockley, Terry, Cochran, Lynn, Garza, Kent, King, Gaines, Dawson, Martin, Howard, Coke, Runnels, Coleman, Brown, Callahan, Eastland, Shackelford, Stephens, Young, Jack, Erath, Hood, Somervell, Parker, Johnson, Ellis, Hunt, Franklin, Wood, Upshur, Van Zandt, Nacogdoches, Cherokee, Anderson, Freestone, Leon, Brazos, San Jacinto, Liberty, Lee, Washington, Austin, Fayette, Colorado, Wharton, Lavaca, Jackson, Matagorda, Brazoria, Goliad, Wilson, Karnes, Atascosa, Gonzales, Bell, Coryell, Bosque, Hamilton, Lampasas, Mills, San Saba, McCulloch, Concho, Llano, Burnet, Schleicher, Real, Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Reagan, Upton, Crane, Winkler, Ward, or Brewster counties.

Primaries

Republican

Candidates

Bill Clements, Incumbent
Duke Embs

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Clements (incumbent)	246,120	92.58%
	Republican	Duke Embs	19,731	7.42%
Total votes			265,851	100.00

Democratic

Candidates

Mark White, Attorney General
Buddy Temple, Railroad Commissioner
Bob Armstrong, Former Land Commissioner
David Young
Ray Allen Mayo II
Donald R. Beagle

Democratic primary results
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

General election 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