Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot.Click to learn more!

Texas Attorney General election, 2014

From Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png
Texas's 2014 elections
U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Other executive offices • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • School boards • Judicial • Candidate ballot access
Flag of Texas.png


2018→
←2010

StateExecLogo.png

Texas Attorney General Election
Primary Date:
March 4, 2014
General Election Date:
November 4, 2014
November 4 Election Winner:
Ken PaxtonRepublican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Greg AbbottRepublican Party
Greg Abbott.jpg
Texas State Executive Elections
Top Ballot
Governor •Lt. Governor •Attorney General
Down Ballot
Comptroller, Land Commissioner, Commissioner of Agriculture, Railroad Commissioner
Flag of Texas.png

TheTexas Attorney General election took place onNovember 4, 2014. IncumbentGreg Abbott (R) was first elected in 2002 and was running forgovernor instead of seeking re-election.[1] The race to replace Abbott featuredRepublican candidateKen Paxton,Democratic candidateSam Houston,Libertarian Party candidateJamie Balagia andGreen Party candidateJamar Osborne.Ken Paxtonwon election to a four-year term in office.

Aprimary 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 anopen primary system. State law requires voters to sign the following pledge before voting in a primary: "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."[2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, seethis article.

Candidates

General election

Republican PartyKen Paxton -State Senator[3]Green check mark transparent.png
Democratic PartySam Houston - Attorney[4]
Libertarian PartyJamie Balagia[5][6]
Green PartyJamar Osborne[7]

Filed for other office

Republican PartyGreg Abbott -Incumbent

Lost primary or at convention

Republican PartyDan Branch -State Representative[8]
Republican PartyBarry Smitherman - Current state Railroad Commissioner[9]
Libertarian PartyTom Glass - Vice Chairman of the Texas Libertarian Party[10][6]

Declined

Democratic PartyCarlos Uresti -State Senator[11]

Results

General election

Attorney General of Texas, 2014
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngKen Paxton58.8%2,742,646
    DemocratSam Houston38%1,773,108
    LibertarianJamie Balagia2.5%118,186
    GreenJamar Osborne0.6%29,590
Total Votes4,663,530
Election results viaTexas Secretary of State

Runoff

Texas Attorney General Republican Runoff, 2014
CandidateVote %Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngKen Paxton65%489,586
Dan Branch35%263,194
Total Votes752,780
Election results viaTexas Secretary of State.

Primary election

Republican primary

Texas Attorney General Republican Primary, 2014
CandidateVote %Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngKen Paxton44.5%569,034
Green check mark transparent.pngDan Branch33.4%428,034
Barry Smitherman22.1%282,701
Total Votes1,279,769
Election results viaTexas 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.[12]

Polls

General election

Attorney General of Texas
PollKen Paxton (R)Sam Houston (D)Jamar Osborne (G)Jamie Balagia (L)Margin of errorSample size
University of Texas/Texas Tribune
October 10-19, 2014		54%34%8%4%+/-3.33866
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 toeditor@ballotpedia.org.

Primary election

Texas Attorney General - Republican Primary
PollBarry SmithermanKen PaxtonDan BranchMargin of errorSample size
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll
February 7-17, 2014
19%39%42%+/-5.37543
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 toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
Texas Attorney General - Republican Primary
PollBarry SmithermanKen PaxtonDan BranchDon't KnowMargin of errorSample size
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll
October 18-27, 2013
11%10%5%74%+/-5.371,200
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 toeditor@ballotpedia.org.

Past elections

2010

Texas Attorney General, 2010
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngGreg AbbottIncumbent64.1%3,151,064
    DemocraticBarbara Ann Radnofsky33.7%1,655,859
    LibertarianJon Roland2.3%112,118
Total Votes4,919,041
Election results viaTexas 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) andJon Roland (L) in the general election.

Texas Attorney General, 2006
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngGreg AbbottIncumbent59.5%2,556,063
    Democratic David Van Os37.2%1,599,069
    LibertarianJon Roland3.3%139,668
Total Votes4,294,800
Election results viaTexas Secretary of State.

2002

Texas Attorney General, 2002
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngGreg AbbottIncumbent56.7%2,542,184
    Democratic Kirk Watson41.1%1,841,359
    LibertarianJon Roland1.3%56,880
    Green David Keith Cobb0.9%41,560
Total Votes4,481,983
Election results viaTexas 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.[13]

Campaign Contribution Totals
CandidateOfficeResultContributions
Ken PaxtonRepublican PartyTexas Attorney GeneralWon$8,337,345
Dan BranchRepublican PartyTexas Attorney GeneralDefeated$7,868,501
Barry SmithermanRepublican PartyTexas Attorney GeneralDefeated$877,350
Sam HoustonDemocratic PartyTexas Attorney GeneralDefeated$594,538
Jamie BalagiaLibertarian PartyTexas Attorney GeneralDefeated$20
Jamar OsborneGreen PartyTexas Attorney GeneralDefeated$0
Grand Total Raised$17,677,754

Key deadlines

DeadlineEvent
December 9, 2013Filing deadline for candidates
March 4, 2014Primary election
May 27, 2014Primary run-off election
November 4, 2014General election
January 20, 2015Inauguration

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Texas + attorney + general + elections"

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Houston Chronicle, "AG Abbott formally kicks off gubernatorial bid," July 14, 2013
  2. ↑Texas Constitution and Statutes, "Tex. Election Code Ann. § 172.086," accessed December 23, 2025
  3. ↑The Texas Tribune, "Ken Paxton Announces Bid for Attorney General," August 1, 2013
  4. ↑Houston Chronicle, "Democrat announces bid for Attorney General," October 17, 2013
  5. ↑Libertarian Party of Texas, " 2014 Texas statewide offices," accessed December 10, 2013
  6. ↑6.06.1Independent Political Report, "Texas, Wisconsin Libertarian Conventions This Weekend," 4/11/2014
  7. ↑Green Party of Texas, "Press Release: 50 Candidates File to Run as Greens in Texas," December 10, 2013
  8. ↑Austin Statesman, "Branch announces candidacy for attorney general," July 23, 2013
  9. ↑Texas Tribune, "Smitherman to Announce Run For Attorney General," June 24, 2013
  10. ↑KENS5, "Libertarian Kathie Glass announces bid for Texas governor," October 2, 2013
  11. ↑My San Antonio, "Uresti opts out of AG race in 2014," November 26, 2013
  12. ↑Austin American-Statesman, "Out-of-state ad roils Texas attorney general race," May 22, 2014
  13. ↑Follow the Money, "Overview of Texas 2014 elections," accessed April 10, 2015
v • e
2014 state executive official elections
GovernorStateExecLogo.png
Lieutenant Governor
Secretary of State
Attorney General
Down ballot offices
Election information
Flag of Texas
v • e
State ofTexas
Austin (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? |Elections in 2026 |How to vote |How to run for office |Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? |U.S. President |U.S. Congress |Federal courts |State executives |State legislature |State and local courts |Counties |Cities |School districts |Public policy