Abbott, who received endorsement from former President Donald Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, easily won his party's nomination for governor, as did O'Rourke, the state's most prominent Democrat, who is seeking to become the first Democratic governor of Texas in nearly three decades.

According to a race call from The Associated Press (AP), Abbott topped the 50 percent mark he needed to prevent a runoff, paving the way for him to seek a third term in office.

Other gubernatorial candidates included businessman Don Huffines, who issued a statement conceding defeat to the governor before projected results were released, conservative commentator Chad Prather, and former chairman of the Texas GOP Allen West.

The race was called by the AP shortly after 8 p.m. local time, with the Republican governor holding nearly 70 percent of the vote with more than 40 percent of ballots tallied.

O'Rourke addressed his supporters in Fort Worth, where he flipped Texas's largest red county while running against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.

"This group of people, and then some, are going to make me the first Democrat to be governor of the state of Texas since 1994," he said.

"This is on us. This is on all of us."

It marked the first primary of the 2022 campaign.

O'Rourke announced his run for Texas governor on Nov. 15, 2021, saying that he wants to ensure the state has a governor "that serves everyone, helps to bring this state together to do the really big things before us and get past the small, divisive politics and policies of Greg Abbott."