2018 Texas Attorney General election

2018 Texas Attorney General election

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Turnout	41.6% [1] ( 17.0%)
Nominee Ken Paxton Justin Nelson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 4,193,207 3,898,098 Percentage 50.57% 47.01%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Paxton:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Nelson:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     40–50%     50%     No data
Attorney General before election Ken Paxton Republican Elected Attorney General Ken Paxton Republican

The 2018 Texas Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Texas. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton ran for re-election. ^[2] The Democratic Party nominated attorney Justin Nelson. ^{[3] [4]}

Paxton was narrowly re-elected to a second term by a 3.56% margin of victory. ^[5]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Ken Paxton, incumbent attorney general

Results

Republican primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ken Paxton (incumbent)	1,312,172	100%	+55.55%
Total votes			1,312,172	100%	+32,112
Turnout				8.6%*	−0.81%*

*Percentage of turnout to registered voters

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Justin Nelson, Susman Godfrey partner

Results

Democratic primary results ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Justin Nelson	884,376	100%
Total votes			884,376	100%	+446,858
Turnout				5.79%*	+2.57%*

*Percentage of turnout to registered voters

Libertarian convention

Nominated

• Michael Ray Harris, attorney ^[8]

General election

Endorsements

Ken Paxton

U.S. executive branch officials

• Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States ^[9]

Organizations

• National Rifle Association of America ^[10]
• Open Carry Texas ^[11]

Polling

View source data.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ken Paxton (R)	Justin Nelson (D)	Michael Ray Harris (L)	Other	Undecided
Dixie Strategies [12]	September 6–7, 2018	519	± 4.3%	45%	39%	2%	–	15%
Texas Lyceum [13]	July 9–26, 2018	441	± 4.7%	35%	25%	4%	–	37%
Gravis Marketing [14]	July 3–7, 2018	602	± 4.0%	45%	41%	–	–	14%
UoT/Texas Tribune [15]	June 8–17, 2018	1,200	± 2.83%	32%	31%	6%	4%	26%
Baselice & Associates (R-TLRPAC) [16]	May 21–28, 2018	–	–	45%	33%	–	–	–

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ken Paxton (incumbent)	4,193,207	50.57%	−8.23%
	Democratic	Justin Nelson	3,898,098	47.01%	+8.99%
	Libertarian	Michael Ray Harris	201,310	2.43%	−0.10%
Total votes			8,292,615	100%
	Republican hold

By congressional district

Paxton won 21 of 36 congressional districts, with the remaining 15 going to Nelson, including two that elected Republicans. ^[17]

District	Paxton	Nelson	Representative
1st	71%	28%	Louie Gohmert
2nd	50%	48%	Ted Poe
			Dan Crenshaw
3rd	51%	46%	Sam Johnson
			Van Taylor
4th	73%	25%	John Ratcliffe
5th	59%	39%	Jeb Hensarling
			Lance Gooden
6th	51%	47%	Joe Barton
			Ron Wright
7th	46%	52%	John Culberson
			Lizzie Fletcher
8th	71%	27%	Kevin Brady
9th	19%	80%	Al Green
10th	49%	48%	Michael McCaul
11th	76%	21%	Mike Conaway
12th	60%	38%	Kay Granger
13th	78%	20%	Mac Thornberry
14th	57%	41%	Randy Weber
15th	41%	57%	Vicente Gonzalez
16th	28%	68%	Beto O'Rourke
			Veronica Escobar
17th	54%	43%	Bill Flores
18th	20%	78%	Sheila Jackson Lee
19th	70%	27%	Jodey Arrington
20th	33%	64%	Joaquín Castro
21st	49%	48%	Lamar Smith
			Chip Roy
22nd	50%	48%	Pete Olson
23rd	47%	50%	Will Hurd
24th	48%	49%	Kenny Marchant
25th	52%	46%	Roger Williams
26th	57%	40%	Michael Burgess
27th	59%	38%	Michael Cloud
28th	39%	59%	Henry Cuellar
29th	26%	73%	Gene Green
			Sylvia Garcia
30th	18%	80%	Eddie Bernice Johnson
31st	50%	46%	John Carter
32nd	45%	53%	Pete Sessions
			Colin Allred
33rd	22%	75%	Marc Veasey
34th	40%	57%	Filemon Vela Jr.
35th	28%	69%	Lloyd Doggett
36th	70%	28%	Brian Babin

Shift by county

Legend

•   Republican — >15%
•   Republican — +12.5−15%
•   Republican — +10−12.5%
•   Republican — +7.5−10%
•   Republican — +5−7.5%
•   Republican — +2.5−5%
•   Republican — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5−5%
•   Democratic — +5−7.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +10−12.5%
•   Democratic — +12.5−15%
•   Democratic — >15%

See also

• Texas Attorney General
• 2018 Texas elections

References

1. "Turnout and Voter Registration Figures (1970-current)". www.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
2. Patrick, Svitek (July 25, 2018). "In re-election bid, Attorney General Ken Paxton emphasizes record as Democrat seizes on indictment". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
3. McElroy, Ashley (November 8, 2017). "Justin Nelson vies for TX attorney general nomination". Spectrum News. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
4. Riedel, Sean (October 9, 2018). "Democratic Texas attorney general nominee Justin Nelson makes appearance in Denton". North Texas Daily. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
5. Zdun, Matt; Collier, Kiah (November 6, 2018). "Gov. Greg Abbott clinches second term as GOP wins closest statewide races in 20 years". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
6. "2018 Republican Party Primary Election - RESULTS". March 10, 2018. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018.
7. "2018 Democratic Party Primary Election - RESULTS". March 10, 2018. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018.
8. "2018 Candidates". lptexas.org. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
9. "President Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton". RAGA. May 7, 2018. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018.
10. "NRA Endorses Ken Paxton for Attorney General". NRA-ILA. September 7, 2018.
11. "Open Carry Texas Endorses Attorney General Ken Paxton". AmmoLand.com. September 5, 2018. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018.
12. Dixie Strategies
13. Texas Lyceum
14. Gravis Marketing
15. UoT/Texas Tribune
16. Baselice & Associates (R-TLRPAC)
17. "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved August 18, 2024.