Democrat Rep. James Talarico has defeated Republican Ken Paxton to give his party control over a Texas Senate seat for the first time since 1993.
Decision Desk HQ projects James Talarico wins the TX US Senate General Election #DecisionMade: 10:14 PM EST Follow live results here: https://t.co/O6f6RF1XKc https://t.co/lxmiHe8EJH
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 4, 2026
VoteHub projects James Talarico to win the Texas U.S. Senate election. https://t.co/blBEPl2UKp
— VoteHub (@VoteHub) November 4, 2026
JAMES TALARICO, DEMOCRAT, WINS TEXAS U.S. SENATE RACE — PROJECTION https://t.co/zaW1arjLDW
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) November 4, 2026
PROJECTION: James Talarico has defeated Ken Paxton in Texas' Senate race, ending Democrats' 32-year statewide drought. After decades of buildup and near misses, Texas Democrats have finally broken through in a state Trump won by 14 points just two years ago.
— Zachary Donnini (@ZacharyDonnini) November 4, 2026
NYT says that James Talarico is likely to win by 8 points. https://t.co/p40OiD1Of5
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) November 4, 2026
The win could be indicative of the direction of the remaining statewide races in Texas. Governor Greg Abbott has managed to reduce the lead of Democrat Gina Hinojosa to just single digits, but, with the remaining vote dwindling, the down-ballot races are looking to shape up as a clean sweep for Democrats.
The result also gives Paxton his first ever loss in a state-wide race of any kind. President Donald Trump managed to win the state by 14 points just two years ago.