James Talarico, the charismatic Texas state representative who campaigned by talking extensively about his Christian faith, has defeated state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was Donald Trump’s hand-picked choice, in Tuesday’s most high-profile U.S. Senate race. Late on Tuesday evening, Talarico led by more than a million votes, and the Associated Press called the race just before 11 p.m. Eastern time.
This marks the first time a Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and another such result, perhaps even more surprising, followed almost immediately. Democrat Gina Hinojosa has won the Texas governor’s race, according to the AP, beating Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott by more than 700,000 votes.
The big blue wave of 2026 has featured numerous surprising results, including the upset victory by Democrat Annie Andrews over Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina’s Senate race. But these dramatic and unexpected Democratic wins in Texas stand out. The Senate campaign between Talarico and Paxton became one of the most expensive state-level races in American history, and according to CNN analyst David Axelrod, Hinojosa was outspent 10 to one by Abbott. Talarico’s campaign also became a major target for Democratic donors and an opportunity to vent their frustration and anger with Trump’s second presidential term.
A combined $573 million were spent by Talarico and Paxton, as well as their defeated primary opponents, over the course of this campaign. Much of that spending was the result of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla pumped an estimated $474 million into this race, virtually all of it to support Paxton, setting a new record for a single donor in a political campaign. Most of that money was funneled through went to Musk’s personal super PAC, but around $168 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund. Another $10 million went to the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC, which spammed voters with AI-generated robocalls attacking Talarico. Meanwhile, Talarico’s campaign and Democratic PACs raised about $133 million.
Although Talarico, like other Democrats, focused on affordability and fighting corruption, he also sought to challenge the dominant view that only Republicans can be devout Christians. His campaign attracted various right-wing conspiracy theories, including claims that he was an emasculated “secret vegan” who suffered from mental illness. Democrats worried that this viral misinformation might overshadow numerous allegations about Paxton, including a Wall Street Journal report that he partied in Dubai with two fugitives from U.S. justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife.
Although Talarico has led in recent public polls, the size of his victory was unexpected. At this writing, it appears almost certain that Democrats will win the Senate, having already flipped seats in both South Carolina and North Carolina, where former Gov. Roy Cooper easily won the open seat held by outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. Democrats also lead the Senate races in Iowa, Maine and Ohio, although those races remain undecided.
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