James Talarico defeats Ken Paxton to win Texas Senate seat in first Democratic victory since 1988
DALLAS, TEXAS – OCTOBER 29: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center on October 29, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. Talarico (Getty Images)
Democrat James Talarico has defeated Republican Ken Paxton to win a US Senate seat in Texas, the first Democratic Senate win in the state since 1988.
Speaking at his official watch party in Austin, Talarico walked on stage to loud cheers and declared: “We just took back Texas.”
For decades, a Democratic statewide win had felt out of reach in Texas. Talarico’s upset victory also helped solidify Democrats taking full control of the US Congress.
Talarico, a former schoolteacher and state legislator, made the rising cost of living under Republican leadership a central theme of his campaign. Paxton, a close ally of Donald Trump, sought to portray Talarico’s views as too progressive for Texas and campaigned alongside Trump on several occasions.
How expensive was the Texas Senate race?
It went on to be the priciest US Senate contest ever, with spending topping half a billion dollars.
Elon Musk poured $158m (£117m) into a super PAC supporting Paxton’s campaign.
In his victory speech, Talarico drew a contrast between big donors and voters, telling supporters: “We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas,” before adding: “This win, this win is for every Texan who’s ever wondered if anyone is listening.”
What shaped the campaign against Paxton?
Even as a wave of attack adverts targeted him—including his earlier remarks backing transgender people—Talarico continued to post solid polling figures. In May, Ken Paxton called James Talarico ‘weird’ for supporting trans kids.
Paxton also entered the race with significant political baggage. He was impeached by his own party in 2023 on corruption accusations and later acquitted by the state Senate. He also faced an indictment from the US Securities and Exchange Commission on federal fraud charges, though those were later thrown out.
George Washington University political science professor Quardricos Driskell called Paxton an “objectively terrible candidate”, and described Democrats’ gains in Texas in stark terms: “This wasn’t just a tsunami, not just a referendum, but this was a bloodbath.”
Throughout the campaign, Talarico often framed progressive arguments in explicitly faith-based terms, positioning himself as a counterpoint to Christian nationalist politics. He leaned into his religious upbringing on the trail, described as the grandson of a Southern Baptist preacher who spent time in a seminary, and invoked biblical themes again in his victory speech.
