US Elections / James Talarico becomes the first Democrat to win a seat in the Texas State Senate since 1988

Democrat James Talarico has won the election for the United States Senate in Texas, according to preliminary results, securing the first victory by a Democrat in a statewide race since 1994 and becoming the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate to represent Texas in the past 38 years. The victory ends a 32-year period of consecutive defeats and gives the party a significant boost in the fight for control of the U.S. Senate.

After 88% of the votes had been counted, Talarico had nearly 55%, while Republican Ken Paxton was credited with approximately 43%. The result is considered all the more significant given that Donald Trump won Texas by 14 percentage points in the 2024 election.

The race was one of the most expensive in the United States, with total spending exceeding 430 million dollars. Elon Musk, who moved Tesla’s headquarters to Texas, invested tens of millions of dollars in support of Paxton and used the X platform to launch attacks against the Democratic candidate. Professor Mark Jones of Rice University stated that, without Musk’s financial support, Paxton’s campaign would have received far less backing.

Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, has been involved in several controversies, including an impeachment proceeding in 2023 and a securities fraud case. Before the election, Republicans controlled the Senate by 53 seats to 47, while Democrats needed four more seats to take the majority.