Democrats Sweep Texas Statewide Races as Talarico Defeats Paxton and Hinojosa Ousts Abbott

Democrat James Talarico won the U.S. Senate race in Texas on Tuesday, defeating Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton by about 55% to 43%, according to the Texas secretary of state's website, which showed all 254 counties reporting, though results are not yet certified. Talarico's 4,397,474 early votes exceeded Paxton's 4,249,373 total votes, and about 7.4 million Texans voted early. He is the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat, defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott by nearly 700,000 votes and will be the state's first Latina governor. Democrats also won lieutenant governor, attorney general and railroad commissioner, flipped four state Supreme Court seats, and are poised to take the Texas House for the first time since 2003. Republicans also lost both chambers of Congress nationally.

The left-leaning New Republic leads with turnout arithmetic, the 12-point margin and Trump's 13.7-point 2024 win, framing the result as proof of Republican unpopularity. The New York Times headline credits years of organizing and an economic-relief message from Talarico and Hinojosa. On the right, Fox News centers on Sen. Ted Cruz's post calling the night a "blue tsunami" and warning that his party lost touch with voters. The Daily Mail leads with Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz's profane Instagram message to Abbott, while noting Hinojosa's milestone. Both sides agree on the sweep and its scale. The left stresses numbers and Democratic strategy; the right stresses Republican self-criticism and a celebrity reaction, with few vote totals. Democracy Now! quotes organizer Mike Siegel on Democratic priorities, and The Hill quotes Karl Rove blaming Paxton for hurting the Republican ticket.