Texas state Rep. James Talarico has defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton for a U.S. Senate seat, giving Democrats their first Senate win in the state in nearly four decades. The Fox News Decision Desk called the race for Talarico shortly after 11 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Talarico’s election night event erupted in cheers and chants of “USA” when the result came in, cutting through the live music that had played through the evening. His dog Kodak, whose owner said had “voted” for Talarico earlier in the day, was reportedly woken from a nap by the noise.
President Donald Trump had backed Paxton over longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn earlier this year, a choice that split Texas Republicans. Many in Washington had believed Cornyn would fare better in a difficult midterm environment shaped by economic strain and war. Trump made frequent trips to Texas to campaign, and his political operation, MAGA Inc., joined national Republicans in spending hundreds of millions of dollars on Paxton’s campaign.
Cornyn congratulated Talarico on X after the race was called: “The voters have spoken, and I want to extend my congratulations to James Talarico on his election to the U.S. Senate. I look forward to meeting him and offering my assistance with his transition as he prepares to serve Texans in the U.S. Senate.”
A bitter campaign
Talarico ran as a moderate, arguing he would represent Texans rather than national Democratic leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He repeatedly attacked Paxton’s fitness for office, citing Paxton’s impeachment by the Texas House on corruption allegations. The Texas Senate later acquitted him.
“This Senate seat has been held by some of the finest Texans,” Talarico said. “Ken Paxton should be nowhere near Lyndon Johnson’s Senate seat. Ken Paxton should be nowhere near Sam Houston’s Senate seat.”
Paxton, Trump and national Republicans cast Talarico as a “communist” and highlighted his vegan diet and his support for transgender Texans while in the state Legislature, including a floor speech in which he said God is “nonbinary.”
“I’m not asking you to imagine what I do as your U.S. senator,” Paxton told voters before Election Day. “I’m asking you to look at my record and then compare it to another guy, James Talarico, the most radical Democrat ever to run statewide, bar none. And no matter how many commercials he runs lying about his record, James Talarico is a, simply put, a Democratic Socialist just like AOC. And just like the New York mayor, Mamdani.”
Trump gave Talarico a nickname of his own, calling him “Talafreako” and describing him as “one of the worst candidates I have ever seen” ahead of a GOP midterm convention aimed at boosting Paxton’s campaign.
Cornyn, who did not campaign for Paxton after losing a contentious primary to him, had warned of the consequences of Trump’s endorsement. “I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years,” Cornyn said after the primary loss. “Judgment Day is coming for Ken Paxton.”
Part of a larger night
Talarico’s win came amid a difficult midterm night for Republicans nationally and in Texas. Around the time his race was called, Democrats were also projected to win control of the U.S. House, and the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had lost his re-election bid to Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa.
