1990 Texas gubernatorial election

The 1990 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Clements did not run for re-election, so the election pitted Democrat Ann Richards against Republican Clayton Williams. Richards narrowly defeated Williams on Election Day, winning 49.5% of the vote to Williams' 46.9%. As of 2024, this is also the most recent time the Democratic candidate has carried Collingsworth, Childress, Wilbarger, Wichita, Archer, Throckmorton, Montague, Wise, Tarrant, Grayson, Lamar, Hopkins, Titus, Bowie, Harrison, Panola, Shelby, Jasper, Hardin, Angelina, Polk, Houston, Madison, Walker, Kaufman, Navarro, Henderson, Hill, McLennan, Williamson, Burleson, Waller, and Refugio counties. As of 2024, this is the last time a Democrat and a woman was elected Governor of Texas, as well as the most recent Texas gubernatorial election in which both major parties' nominees have since died.

1990 Texas gubernatorial election

November 6, 1990

Nominee Ann Richards Clayton Williams Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,925,670 1,826,431 Percentage 49.5% 46.9%

County results Richards:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Williams:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Bill Clements Republican Elected Governor Ann Richards Democratic

Republican primary

Candidates

• Clayton Williams, Midland oil and gas businessman
• Kent Hance, Railroad Commissioner, former Democratic U.S. representative from Lubbock, and candidate in 1986
• Tom Luce, attorney and advisor to H. Ross Perot
• Jack Rains, Houston attorney and former secretary of state (1987–1989)
• W.N. Otwell
• Royce Owens
• Ed Cude

Declined

• George W. Bush, son of President George H. W. Bush and part-owner of the Texas Rangers
• T. Boone Pickens, billionaire oilman and corporate takeover specialist

T. Boone Pickens, CEO of Mesa Petroleum in Amarillo, was considered a likely candidate for much of 1989. However, on August 30, 1989, Pickens announced at a luncheon in Dallas that he would not run for the governorship in 1990. But Pickens, who also announced he would be relocating from Amarillo to Dallas, said he would consider a run for the governorship in 1994.

George W. Bush, who had just become part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club, also declined to run for governor after briefly exploring a run for the governorship in 1990. He did so on the advice of his mother.

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Clayton Williams	520,014	60.80
	Republican	Kent Hance	132,142	14.35
	Republican	Tom Luce	115,835	13.54
	Republican	Jack Rains	82,461	9.64
	Republican	W. N. Otwell	2,310	0.27
	Republican	Royce X. Owens	1,392	0.16
	Republican	Ed Cude	1,077	0.13
Total votes			855,231	100.00

Democratic primary

Results of the Democratic primary by county

  Richards

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60-70%

  Mattox

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60-70%

  White

•   30–40%

Results of the Democratic runoff primary by county

  Richards

•   50–60%
•   60-70%
•   70-80%

  Mattox

•   50–60%
•   60-70%
•   70-80%

Candidates

• Ann Richards, Texas State Treasurer
• Jim Mattox, Texas Attorney General and former U.S. representative
• Mark White, former governor (1983–1987)
• Theresa Hearn-Haynes
• Earl Holmes
• Stanley Adams
• Ray Rachal

Results

Richards and Mattox came very close to each other in the first round of the primary, with Richards securing the first place by just 0.29% of the vote. She performed the best in the Travis County, the seat of Austin, the capital of Texas. In contrast, Mattox showed his best results in several counties in northern portion of the state. He repeated this feat in the runoff election, but ceded ground significantly across the state to Richards, who beat him by 14.18% of the vote.

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ann Richards	580,191	39.01
	Democratic	Jim Mattox	546,103	38.72
	Democratic	Mark White	288,161	19.38
	Democratic	Theresa Hearn-Haynes	31,395	2.11
	Democratic	Earl Holmes	17,904	1.20
	Democratic	Stanley Adams	16,118	1.08
	Democratic	Ray Rachal	9,388	0.63
Total votes			1,487,734	100.00

Runoff

Democratic primary runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ann Richards	640,995	57.09
	Democratic	Jim Mattox	481,739	42.91
Total votes			1,122,734	100.00

General election

Campaign

Williams handily won the Republican primary. Williams's vote total exceeded that of his nearest challenger, former Congressman and soon-to-be-former Railroad Commissioner Kent Hance by more than 45 percentage points. Meanwhile, Democrat Ann Richards placed first in a six-person primary that included Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox and former governor Mark White, the latter of whom sought to return to the governor's mansion four years after losing his bid to remain Governor of Texas.

Williams spent freely from his personal fortune, running a "Good Old Boy" campaign initially appealing to conservatives. Prior to a series of gaffes, he was leading Richards (the race was dubbed "Claytie vs. The Lady") in the polls and was in striking distance of becoming only the second Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction. Meanwhile, Libertarian nominee Jeff Daiell was launching a TV campaign which, combined with personal appearances across Texas, boosted him to a showing of 129,128 votes. His drawing power made Richards the first Texas governor in many years elected without a majority.

In one of his widely publicized missteps, Williams refused to shake hands with Ann Richards in a public debate, an act seen as uncouth. Earlier, Williams made an infamous joke to reporters, likening bad weather to rape, having quipped: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it". In addition, it has been claimed that as an undergraduate at Texas A&M, he had participated in visits to the Chicken Ranch, a well-known Texas brothel in La Grange, and the Boy's Towns of Mexico. As a result of his reported comments, Williams was occasionally parodied, such as in the mock political ad, "Satan Williams", which appeared on Dallas/Fort Worth public television during the 1990 campaign season. Richards was sworn-in as the 45th governor of Texas on January 15, 1991.

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ann Richards	1,925,670	49.47%
	Republican	Clayton Williams	1,826,431	46.92%
	Libertarian	Jeff Daiell	129,128	3.32%
Total votes			3,881,229	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

External links

Videos

• Negative Attack Ad "Politics as Usual"
• Attorney General Jim Mattox interviewed by Robert Riggs of WFAA-TV Dallas/Fort Worth on March 13, 1990
• Campaign Commercial "Clayton Williams in His Own Words"