James Talarico Defeats Ken Paxton, Becoming Texas’ First Democratic Senator Since the 1980s
The state lawmaker and former teacher won by about 12 points in a result that would have seemed unlikely a year ago.
Democrat James Talarico won the US Senate race in Texas on Tuesday, defeating Republican Ken Paxton and ending a long Democratic losing streak in statewide races, according to the Associated Press, NBC News and NPR.
The result
Talarico received about 55 percent of the vote to Paxton’s 43 percent, with roughly 5.4 million votes to about 4.2 million, according to tallies reported by ABC News and The Guardian.
He will be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988, and the first Democrat to win any statewide office in Texas since 1994, according to those reports.
Who he is
Talarico is a state representative and former public school teacher. He built a large following during the campaign by speaking about faith, public education and the cost of living.
Paxton, the state’s attorney general, had long been one of the most prominent conservative figures in Texas. He won the Republican nomination after a bruising primary season.
Money and message
The race drew enormous outside spending. Elon Musk spent about $224 million in Texas this cycle, much of it supporting Republicans including Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott, according to a CNBC analysis of campaign finance records.
In his victory speech, Talarico called for getting big money out of politics so that no billionaire could buy elections, CNBC reported. He did not name Musk.
Part of a Texas wave
The Senate result came on the same night Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Abbott in the governor’s race, according to the AP. Together, the two wins mark the most significant Democratic statewide showing in Texas in more than three decades.
Republicans still control the Texas Legislature, and many down-ballot offices remained in Republican hands.
Why it matters nationally
Texas was one of at least seven Senate seats Democrats flipped on Tuesday, helping the party win control of the chamber, according to the AP. The seat gives Democrats a foothold in the largest Republican-leaning state.
Talarico will be sworn in when the new Congress convenes in January. Analysts will watch whether the Texas results reflect a lasting change in the state’s politics or a one-time reaction to economic conditions and the national environment.
Sources: Associated Press, CNBC, NBC News, ABC News.
Get the BURN VOC Briefing
Top US news in your inbox. Free.
This story is published by BURN VOC under its newsroom byline and follows our editorial standards. Sources are named in the story. To report an error, email news@burnvoc.com. Editorial Standards · Corrections · About BURN VOC
