# 2014 Texas Attorney General election
The 2014 Texas Attorney General election chose the successor to retiring Attorney General Greg Abbott, who ran successfully for governor that year. Republican state senator **Ken Paxton** of McKinney defeated state representative Dan Branch of Dallas in the party's primary runoff and then beat Democratic nominee [Sam Houston](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-houston) in the November 4, 2014 general election, taking office as the 51st Attorney General of Texas on January 5, 2015.[1](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office) • [2](https://elections.texastribune.org/texas-election-results/2014-general-election/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Republican primary (March 2014) | Paxton 566,114 (44.4%), Branch 426,595 (33.5%), Barry Smitherman 281,064 (22.1%); no candidate reached a majority, forcing a runoff[3](https://elections.texastribune.org/2014/elections/brackets/) |
| Republican runoff (May 2014) | Paxton 466,502 (63.61%), Branch 266,786 (36.38%)[4](https://elections.texastribune.org/texas-election-results/2014-runoff-election/) |
| General election (November 4, 2014) | Paxton 2,737,289 (58.80%), Sam Houston (D) 1,769,943 (38.02%), Jamie Balagia (Libertarian) 118,183 (2.54%), Jamar Osborne (Green) 29,513 (0.63%)[5](https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/enrrpts/2014-general.pdf) |
| Turnout | 4,654,928 votes cast in the attorney general race out of 14,025,441 registered voters (33.19%); 4,792,686 total voters voted statewide[5](https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/enrrpts/2014-general.pdf) |
| Result in office | Paxton became the 51st Attorney General of Texas, sworn in January 5, 2015[1](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office) |
| Later elections | Paxton was reelected in 2018 and 2022[1](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office) |
## The Republican primary
The contest for the Republican nomination was the decisive round, in a state where the party's nominee was heavily favored in November. Three candidates ran: Dan Branch, a state representative from Dallas; [Ken Paxton](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-paxton), a state senator from McKinney; and Barry Smitherman.[6](https://www.tab.org/public/upload/files/misc/political-candidates-3-11-14.pdf) • [3](https://elections.texastribune.org/2014/elections/brackets/) Paxton ran as a tea party-backed candidate in a primary cycle that featured several such insurgent campaigns, and he finished first on March 4 with 44.4 percent, short of the majority needed under Texas law to avoid a runoff.[7](https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2014/0417/Who-could-be-the-next-Ted-Cruz-Top-10-tea-party-primaries-of-2014/Texas-Dan-Patrick-vs.-David-Dewhurst-Ken-Paxton-vs.-Dan-Branch) • [3](https://elections.texastribune.org/2014/elections/brackets/)
In the May 27 runoff, Paxton won decisively with 63.6 percent to Branch's 36.4 percent.[4](https://elections.texastribune.org/texas-election-results/2014-runoff-election/) The Texas Tribune's campaign analysis described Paxton's runoff win as "easy" and observed that "ideology trumped biography," meaning that Paxton's conservative positioning outweighed questions about his record during the primary.[8](https://www.texastribune.org/2014/07/04/analysis-when-prosecution-candidates-foil/?campaign=814407) During the campaign, candidates framed the office as the top law enforcement position in the state, a characterization the Tribune called a stretch, since most criminal cases fall to local district and county attorneys.[8](https://www.texastribune.org/2014/07/04/analysis-when-prosecution-candidates-foil/?campaign=814407)
## The general election
Sam Houston, a Democratic district-level nominee with no relation to the 19th-century soldier and politician of the same name, won the Democratic nomination unopposed with 437,181 votes in the March primary.[8](https://www.texastribune.org/2014/07/04/analysis-when-prosecution-candidates-foil/?campaign=814407) • [3](https://elections.texastribune.org/2014/elections/brackets/) In the November 4 general election, Paxton received 2,737,289 votes (58.80 percent) to Houston's 1,769,943 (38.02 percent), a margin of more than 967,000 votes.[5](https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/enrrpts/2014-general.pdf) • [2](https://elections.texastribune.org/texas-election-results/2014-general-election/) The Libertarian nominee, Jamie Balagia, drew 118,183 votes and the Green Party's Jamar Osborne drew 29,513.[5](https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/enrrpts/2014-general.pdf)
Turnout reflected the low-engagement character of the 2014 midterms in Texas. Of 14,025,441 registered voters, 4,654,928 cast ballots in the attorney general race, a 33.19 percent participation rate.[5](https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/enrrpts/2014-general.pdf)
## Aftermath
Paxton took the oath of office on January 5, 2015, becoming Texas's 51st attorney general.[1](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office) • [9](https://www.oag.state.tx.us/news/releases/ken-paxton-sworn-texas-51st-attorney-general) Later that year, a grand jury in his hometown near Dallas indicted him on felony securities fraud charges, accusing him of duping investors in a tech startup; he pleaded not guilty, and the case remained unresolved for years.[10](https://apnews.com/article/64682d8c51eaccf3edb4d9b897ca21b8) A federal fraud probe of Paxton's 2014 conduct later became part of the record again when The New York Times published a leaked deposition from the probe decades after the election that first elevated him.[11](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jesse-watters-skewers-off-putting-must-win-trump-candidate)
The 2014 election began a long tenure: Paxton was reelected in 2018 and 2022, survived impeachment and acquittal in the [Texas Senate](https://www.edgepedia.org/texas-senate) in 2023, and in 2024 the securities fraud criminal case ended after nine years without a trial.[1](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office) • [10](https://apnews.com/article/64682d8c51eaccf3edb4d9b897ca21b8) • [12](https://apnews.com/article/d5e57fc6cd062c995ced91e9d2542199)
## References
1. [About the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Texas](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/about-office)
2. [2014 General Election, The Texas Tribune](https://elections.texastribune.org/texas-election-results/2014-general-election/)
3. [News App: The 2014 Election Brackets, The Texas Tribune](https://elections.texastribune.org/2014/elections/brackets/)
4. [2014 Primary Runoff Election, The Texas Tribune](https://elections.texastribune.org/texas-election-results/2014-runoff-election/)
5. [Unofficial Tabulation for the 2014 General Election, Texas Secretary of State](https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/enrrpts/2014-general.pdf)
6. [2014 Candidates – Primary Runoff Election Races, Texas Associated Press Broadcasters](https://www.tab.org/public/upload/files/misc/political-candidates-3-11-14.pdf)
7. [Texas: Dan Patrick vs. David Dewhurst; Ken Paxton vs. Dan Branch, The Christian Science Monitor](https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2014/0417/Who-could-be-the-next-Ted-Cruz-Top-10-tea-party-primaries-of-2014/Texas-Dan-Patrick-vs.-David-Dewhurst-Ken-Paxton-vs.-Dan-Branch)
8. [Analysis: When the Prosecution is a Candidate's Foil, The Texas Tribune](https://www.texastribune.org/2014/07/04/analysis-when-prosecution-candidates-foil/?campaign=814407)
9. [Ken Paxton Sworn in as Texas' 51st Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General](https://www.oag.state.tx.us/news/releases/ken-paxton-sworn-texas-51st-attorney-general)
10. [Timeline leading to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's acquittal in his impeachment trial, AP](https://apnews.com/article/64682d8c51eaccf3edb4d9b897ca21b8)
11. [Jesse Watters Skewers 'Off-Putting' Must-Win Trump Candidate, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jesse-watters-skewers-off-putting-must-win-trump-candidate)
12. [How the criminal case against Texas AG Ken Paxton abruptly ended after nearly a decade of delays, AP](https://apnews.com/article/d5e57fc6cd062c995ced91e9d2542199)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › United States election events › US state and local election events › US state legislative and down-ballot elections › State attorney general elections*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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