1976

The last time the presidential candidate preferred most by the state’s Republican primary voters did not up the nominee, until this year.

The first Republican presidential primary was held in 1976, and nearly two thirds of voters cast ballots for Ronald Reagan. President Gerald Ford was nominated for a full term, and he went on to lose to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Texas primary voters again chose Reagan in 1980 and 1984, then George H.W. Bush in 1988 and 1992, then Bob Dole in 1996, George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012.

This year, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz finished first with a plurality vote and received the votes of 104 members of the Texas delegation at the Republican National Convention. Donald Trump, the nominee, received 48 Texas delegates. Overall, Trump received 1,725 delegates, nearly 500 more than the 1,237 required to win. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz received 484.