Texas state representative James Talarico has defeated Ken Paxton in the race for Texas’ U.S. Senate seat, NBC News has projected, bringing an end to a heated race that garnered national attention for record-breaking campaign spending and millions of dollars in ad buys for Republicans.
With his victory, Talarico is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat representing the nation’s second-largest state since 1988 and the first Democrat to win a statewide office since 1994.
Texas had long been considered the standard bearer for the Republican Party since George W. Bush’s victory over Ann Richards in the 1994 gubernatorial election. Numerous candidates attempted to wrest a Senate seat from the Republicans, including Beto O’Rourke, who came closest in his 2018 race against Ted Cruz.
Talarico, with a message focused on wealth disparity and corruption mixed with faith, broke through.
Paxton, who has been Texas’ attorney general since 2015, had previously defeated longtime Texas senator John Cornyn in a runoff in May. President Donald Trump endorsed him as a “true MAGA warrior” and was one of the early attorneys general to file suit on Trump’s behalf regarding the 2020 election.
Still, his standing among Texas Republicans had been rocky for years. In 2023, his party indicted him for abuse of office and his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, divorced him on “biblical grounds.” He was acquitted after pressure from Trump and state leaders, and his defeat of Cornyn opened a massive rift among Republican voters who were asked to set Paxton’s numerous scandals aside to keep the Senate in Republican control.
Over $570 million was donated in total to Talarico and Paxton’s respective campaigns, making it the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history.
Talarico will assume the seat previously held by Cornyn on Jan. 3, 2027.
