President-elect Donald Trump claimed the largest margin of victory in a U.S. presidential race in Texas in two decades, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

Trump won Texas by 1,537,926 votes over Vice President Kamala Harris, securing 6,318,655 votes (56%) compared to Harris’s 4,780,729 votes (42%).

The last Republican to win Texas by such a significant margin was George W. Bush in 2004. Bush, a former Texas governor, won re-election against Democrat John Kerry by 1,694,213 votes, with 61% of the vote to Kerry’s 38%.

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Margin of Victory in 2012, 2016 and 2020

This election marks a shift from previous years. In 2020, Trump defeated Joe Biden in Texas by a smaller margin of 631,221 votes (52%-46%). In 2016, Trump won Texas over Hillary Clinton by 807,179 votes (53%-43%).

 Prior Republican wins include Mitt Romney’s victory over President Barack Obama in Texas by 1,261,719 votes in 2012 and John McCain’s win over Obama in 2008 by 950,695 votes.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz also experienced a strong showing, defeating Democratic Congressman Colin Allred by 943,352 votes. Cruz’s total of 5,919,375 votes (53%) surpassed Allred’s 4,976,023 votes (45%), a marked improvement from his close 2018 race.

Polls Fall Short

Polls leading up to the election indicated Trump would win Texas but underestimated his actual lead. The Real Clear Politics average showed Trump ahead by nine percentage points, but he ultimately won by 14.

 Similarly, Cruz was expected to win by 4.4 percentage points and outperformed expectations, winning by eight points.

Key Issues for Texas Voters

Texas voters cited the economy and border security as their top concerns, aligning with Republican messaging. While abortion and reproductive rights remain important, they ranked lower on Texas voters' priority lists. 

Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion laws have been primarily state-controlled, with Texas enforcing one of the strictest bans.

Democrats continue to advocate for codifying Roe v. Wade protections into federal law, though they currently lack the necessary votes in Congress.