James Talarico Wins Texas Senate Seat, Ending 38-Year Democratic Drought

James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas US Senate race on 3 November 2026, according to media projections. The win ends a 38-year drought for Democrats in statewide races in the state and contributes to their new majority in the chamber.

Talarico, a 37-year-old former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, is a four-term state representative from the Austin area. He defeated former Representative Colin Allred for the Democratic nomination after Allred withdrew, then beat Representative Jasmine Crockett in the primary. Paxton, the state attorney general, won the Republican nomination over incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a runoff.

No Democrat had won a Senate seat in Texas since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. No Democrat had won any statewide office since 1994. Trump carried the state by 14 points in 2024. Talarico’s margin was reported in the double digits in some tallies.

The race was the most expensive Senate contest of the cycle, with total spending exceeding half a billion dollars. Republicans and outside groups spent more than $316 million to hold the seat. Elon Musk contributed $158 million to a super PAC supporting Paxton. Talarico was one of the top Democratic fundraisers nationally.

Paxton faced multiple controversies, including a 2023 impeachment by the Texas House and a securities fraud case. Talarico campaigned on reducing costs and opposing corruption. At his victory rally in Austin he said the result showed that money cannot match the people of Texas and that a politics of division cannot match a politics of love.

Talarico will be the youngest member of the Senate when he takes office in January 2027. He replaces Cornyn, who had represented the state since 2002. The win pairs with Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s victory in the Texas governor’s race over Greg Abbott, the first Democratic gubernatorial win since Ann Richards in 1990.

Latino turnout was a factor in both races, according to organizers. Voters in the state cited affordability and immigration enforcement as concerns. Talarico’s background as a progressive Christian who emphasizes neighborly love was central to his messaging in a state with large evangelical populations.

The Texas results form part of a broader Democratic sweep that flipped Senate seats in Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. Democrats now hold at least 54 Senate seats. The outcome gives the party control of both chambers for the remainder of Trump’s term.

Talarico’s path from underdog in the primary to senator-elect involved sustained fundraising and a focus on local economic issues. His primary victory over Crockett shifted the general election dynamic by removing a more polarizing Democratic nominee from the ballot. Republican leaders had hoped Cornyn’s experience would hold the seat more easily than Paxton’s record.

Final certified results will confirm the exact margin. Talarico takes the seat on 3 January 2027 alongside the rest of the new Congress.