James Talarico, a 37-year-old Democratic state lawmaker and former teacher, has won Texas’s open US Senate seat. He beat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race called by the Associated Press on election night, KEYE reported.
He will be Texas’s first Democratic senator since 1993 and the Senate’s youngest member, the AP reported in a story carried by PBS NewsHour. Texas last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1988, when Lloyd Bentsen won re-election.
His win also helped hand Democrats the Senate. It was one of the flips that gave the party control of both chambers on Tuesday. President Trump carried Texas by double digits two years ago, the AP noted.
A 12-point win, and a Democratic sweep
At 11:36 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Talarico led Paxton 55.1% to 43.0% with 99% of the vote in, NBC News’s results page showed.
He was not alone on the ballot. CBS News projected that Gina Hinojosa would unseat Gov. Greg Abbott, and NBC’s statewide results showed Democrats also ahead for lieutenant governor and attorney general. On NBC’s count, Talarico’s share was the largest of the four.
In conceding, Paxton said: “I love Texas. I will always love Texas. We will still fight for this place,” Newsweek reported. Talarico told supporters in Austin: “Tonight we defeated Goliath.”
How long Texas Democrats had waited
MS NOW reported that no Democrat had won statewide in Texas since 1994. Here is how that drought built up, race by race, from sources we opened.
| Year | Race | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | US Senate | Lloyd Bentsen (D) re-elected, the last Democrat Texas elected to the Senate | AP via PBS |
| 1993 | US Senate special | Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) beat appointed Sen. Bob Krueger (D) | Fox 4 |
| 1994 | Statewide offices | Democrats’ last wins: lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, land commissioner and one state Supreme Court seat. George W. Bush beat Gov. Ann Richards | Fox 4 |
| 2018 | US Senate | Ted Cruz (R) beat Beto O’Rourke (D) by 2.56 points | Fox 4 |
| 2020 | US Senate | John Cornyn (R) beat MJ Hegar (D) by 9.64 points | Fox 4 |
| 2026 | US Senate | James Talarico (D) 55.1%, Ken Paxton (R) 43.0%, 99% of expected vote | NBC News |
Sources: AP via PBS NewsHour; Fox 4 (KDFW), Oct. 30, 2024; NBC News, 11:36 p.m. ET Wednesday.
O’Rourke’s 2018 run was the closest of the recent attempts. It generated enthusiasm but fell short, the AP noted. Talarico’s margin over Paxton was more than four times O’Rourke’s losing margin.
From a San Antonio classroom to the Texas House
Talarico taught sixth grade on San Antonio’s West Side. He is the son of a teacher and a small-business owner, Newsweek reported.
He is an eighth-generation Texan who studied at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, according to a March Houston Public Media report carried by Marfa Public Radio. The AP adds that he is the grandson of a Baptist preacher.
He won his Texas House seat in 2018, flipping a district Trump had carried in 2016, per the same report. He says he helped pass 60 bipartisan bills there aimed at lowering costs, 6abc reported.
His faith became part of his pitch. CBS News describes him as a progressive Christian. He built a following with TikTok videos that drew millions of views, according to the AP.
A primary win over Crockett, then a fight with Paxton
On March 3, Talarico beat US Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary. He led 53.1% to 45.6% with 85% of polling places reporting, Houston Public Media reported. The AP called it early on March 4.
Crockett conceded, saying Texas “must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.”
Paxton, 63, beat Cornyn in a runoff after a late Trump endorsement, CBS News reported. The Texas House impeached him in 2023, and the state Senate acquitted him. He also avoided debating Talarico, according to the AP.
Republicans aimed their fire at Talarico’s past statements. Paxton and the GOP called him too extreme for Texas, citing his comments on veganism and gender, CBS News reported. Talarico said those remarks “missed the mark” and later called them “cringey.”
He also missed more than a week of campaigning with what he said was a bad case of the flu. That fuelled conspiracy theories until his campaign released security footage of him at home.
Money shaped the race too. AdImpact found $573.2 million in ad spending, making it the most expensive non-presidential race in US history, KEYE reported.
Talarico’s own campaign raised $146.3 million through Oct. 14, FEC filings show. Elon Musk was among the biggest funders of the other side. We broke down his groups’ spending race by race.
What Talarico says he will do with the seat
Talarico ran on the cost of living and cast politics as “top versus bottom,” the AP reported. On Wednesday he turned that against Musk. “The people of Texas delivered a crystal-clear message to the world’s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale,” he told CBS News.
He said the win gave him “a mandate the size of Texas.” His goals are a campaign finance overhaul to limit megadonors, universal health care and investment in education, according to CBS News. He said he wants them done on a bipartisan basis.
He also named areas where he says he can work with Trump. They include repealing tariffs to lower grocery prices, suspending federal gas and diesel taxes and ending the war in Iran, 6abc reported, along with immigration reform that pairs border security with a path to citizenship.
“This was bigger than the Democratic Party or the Republican Party,” he said.
Paxton stays on as attorney general until January, Newsweek reported. Talarico takes Cornyn’s seat when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, 2027, as part of the Democratic majority whose agenda we laid out.
He told CBS News he hopes to meet Chuck Schumer, who is expected to seek another term as majority leader, to hear his plans.
