Democratic State Representative James Talarico has won the U.S. Senate race in Texas. He defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in a historic upset that broke a 38-year Democratic drought in the Southern region, which has been popularly known as a “red state” for its continuous support for the Republican presidential candidates since 1980.
The 37-year-old state legislator and Presbyterian seminarian will become the first Democrat to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. His victory also marks the first time a Democrat has won any statewide office in Texas since 1994. It ended a three-decade Republican monopoly.
A stunning upset in a republican stronghold
The victory sends a shockwave through the Republican Party. It is a stunning blow to former President Donald Trump, who had endorsed Paxton and carried Texas by nearly 14 percentage points just two years earlier. Talarico’s win is part of a breakthrough night for Democrats in Texas, where Republican Governor Greg Abbott was also ousted by Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa.
The race was the most expensive U.S. Senate contest in history, with more than half a billion dollars spent. Billionaire Elon Musk poured $158 million into a super PAC supporting Paxton. Talarico repeatedly used this to cast his opponent as beholden to wealthy donors. In his victory speech in Austin, Talarico invoked the biblical story of David and Goliath to frame his win.
“In this race, we faced our own Goliaths — the richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world and the entire political establishment in Washington,” Talarico said. “You were my slingshot. The people of Texas were my slingshot. And tonight — yes, tonight — we have defeated Goliath”.
"Tonight we defeated Goliath." Democrat James Talarico gives a speech following his win in the Texas Senate race against Republican Ken Paxton, saying this sends a message to "every billionaire megadonor." Watch our live coverage ➡️ https://t.co/LjwiYXsd1D https://t.co/Wo8xN6vrXh
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 4, 2026
Talarico also told his supporters: “We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas”. Addressing Texans who did not vote for him, he stated, “I will be your senator too. I will always serve you. I will always fight for you”.
The win has major implications for control of the Senate. Democrats needed to gain four seats to retake the majority, and Talarico’s victory, combined with other projected flips, has helped solidify the party’s takeover of both chambers of Congress. The result complicates Trump’s efforts to advance his agenda during the final two years of his presidency and signals a rupture in the political landscape of the nation’s second-most populous state.
