Democratic state Rep. James Talarico defeated Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate election, flipping a seat Republicans have held for more than three decades.
Talarico became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. The state has not had a Democratic senator since June 1993.
The victory marks a major breakthrough for Democrats in a state long considered a Republican stronghold. It also strengthens the party’s position in the Senate following the 2026 midterm elections.
The closely watched contest became the most expensive non-presidential election in U.S. history. According to AdImpact Politics, campaign spending reached approximately $544.5 million, surpassing the previous record of $542.8 million set during Ohio’s 2024 Senate race.
Republican outside groups and political action committees spent more than $360 million supporting Paxton, while Democratic groups spent over $133 million backing Talarico through late October.
Billionaire Elon Musk contributed approximately $212 million to support Paxton, including $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the Republican Party’s leading Senate campaign organization.
Talarico also broke fundraising records, raising $64 million during the third quarter. That surpassed the previous third-quarter Senate fundraising record of $38.1 million set by former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke during his unsuccessful 2018 campaign against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Paxton entered the general election after defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in a contentious Republican primary. Cornyn and his allies had repeatedly attacked Paxton over corruption allegations during the campaign.
The Texas attorney general faced scrutiny over several personal and legal controversies, including his 2023 impeachment by the Republican-controlled Texas House on bribery and abuse of power charges. The state Senate subsequently acquitted him.
Talarico made allegations of corruption against Paxton a central part of his campaign. He also focused on economic concerns, including rising living costs.
President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton and visited Texas four times before the election to encourage Republican turnout. Trump warned that a Democratic victory could threaten his administration’s policies.
Trump also criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after the Republican lost his reelection bid to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.
“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost. He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Despite Trump’s support, Paxton struggled to overcome concerns about his past controversies.
The Epoch Times reported that some Republican voters were unwilling to support Paxton even while backing other GOP candidates.
Charles Allen, a voter in Collin County, said he supported Republican Gov. Greg Abbott but ultimately chose Talarico in the Senate race.
“I didn’t want to vote for him,” Allen said of Talarico, explaining that Paxton had “just got too much junk in the closet.”
Talarico also faced criticism over his progressive positions on abortion, transgender issues, and gun restrictions.
The Democrat previously described God as “non-binary,” although he later walked back the statement and said he had been “deliberately provocative.”
Talarico’s victory ends a 33-year period without a Democratic U.S. senator representing Texas and delivers a significant setback to Republicans in one of their longtime strongholds.