| Election Name: | 1978 Texas gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Texas |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1974 Texas gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1974 |
| Next Election: | 1982 Texas gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1978 |
| Image1: | File:Clements Deputy DoD.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Bill Clements |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,183,828 |
| Percentage1: | 50.0% |
| Nominee2: | John Luke Hill |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,166,919 |
| Percentage2: | 49.2% |
| Map Size: | 310px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Dolph Briscoe |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Bill Clements |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1978 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978, to elect the governor of Texas. In a surprising upset, Republican Bill Clements was narrowly elected over Democratic State Attorney General John Luke Hill, winning 50% of the vote to Hill's 49%. In doing so, Clements became the first Republican to be elected governor since Reconstruction in 1869.
Besides Clements' upset victory in the gubernatorial election, Republican Senator John Tower was re-elected to a third full six-year term in the Texas U.S. Senate race. However, the majority of the down-ballot statewide offices remained with the Democratic Party. With a margin of victory of just 0.72%, this was the closest race of the 1978 Gubernatorial Cycle. This is the last time Zavala County did not vote for the Democratic candidate, instead voting for Raza Unida.
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Dolph Briscoe, who had first been elected in 1972 and was easily re-elected in 1974, had become increasingly unpopular within the Texas Democratic Party during his six years in office. John Luke Hill fielded a primary challenge against the Governor, as a liberal alternative to Briscoe, who represented the more conservative, rural faction of the party. Dissatisfaction with Briscoe prompted former Governor Preston Smith to enter the race, running as a populist alternative to the other two candidates. Briscoe had previously defeated Smith in the 1972 primary.
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(1) Bill Clements bio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUX2sglZ-W8
(2) Gubernatorial Debate on October 24, 1978 at KPRC-TV Studios in Houston http://tx.clementspapers.org/media/videos/e_cle_0014539
(3) Republican Primary Gubernatorial Debate in 1978 http://tx.clementspapers.org/media/videos/e_cle_0014540
(4) Gubernatorial Debate on October 27, 1978 at KERA-TV Studios in Dallas http://tx.clementspapers.org/media/videos/ecle0014537