Texas elects Democrats to Senate and governor’s office after more than 30 years

In the U.S. midterm elections, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton to win the Texas Senate seat vacated by Senator John Cornyn, while Gina Hinojosa defeated Governor Greg Abbott to become the state’s first Latina governor.

In the midterm elections held in the United States on November 3, Democrats won both the Senate and gubernatorial races in Texas, a longtime Republican stronghold. According to an Associated Press (AP) projection, Democratic state legislator James Talarico defeated Republican candidate and state attorney general Ken Paxton.

With this result, Democrats won a statewide race in Texas for the first time in more than 30 years. Talarico, a 37-year-old former middle school teacher, will be the first Democrat to represent Texas in the Senate since 1993 and the chamber’s youngest member. Incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn was out of the race after losing to Paxton in his party’s primary; Talarico will take Cornyn’s seat.

Teksas'ın ilk Latin kökenli kadın valisi olacak Gina Hinojosa (arşiv)

In the gubernatorial race, state legislator Gina Hinojosa of Austin defeated Governor Greg Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term. Hinojosa will become the state’s first Latina governor and the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in Texas since 1990.

President Donald Trump won Texas by a double-digit margin in the 2024 election. In a statement on election night, Trump blamed Abbott for the defeat and called him a “RINO” (Republican in name only). Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.

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