Musk No Match for Texas Democrats as Talarico Defeats Paxton To Turn Senate Seat Blue

State Representative James Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton to flip a Senate seat in deep red Texas for the first time in more than three decades, as billionaire Elon Musk’s massive investment in the state, both politically and economically, paid off for Democrats.Mr. Talarico was declared the victor with 59.5 percent of the vote compared to Mr. Paxton’s 38.9 percent with 66 percent of the ballots counted. The victory was one of several flips of Republican seats, making the path for Republicans to retain control of the Senate almost impossible.President Trump endorsed Mr. Paxton in the primary against the longtime incumbent, Senator John Cornyn. Mr. Paxton had to deal with a history of scandals. He was impeached in 2023 on corruption accusations but was acquitted by the Republican majority in the state legislature. Mr. Cornyn congratulated Mr. Talarico on his triumph.“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,” the outgoing senator said.The race was the most expensive in the nation with AdImpact putting the amount spent at almost $600 million. Mr. Musk, who moved his companies to Texas from California in July 2024, poured millions of dollars into the race to boost Mr. Paxton’s chances, but it wasn’t enough to sway voters concerned about fuel prices and opposed to excessive measures to enforce immigration laws.Mr. Paxton tried to paint Mr. Talarico as too far left for Texas. Mr. Talarico portrayed Mr. Paxton as corrupt and painted himself as a populist.Texas has not had a Democratic senator since June 1993 when Bob Krueger left office after serving a brief appointed term to fill in for the vacancy created by Lloyd Bentsen joining the Clinton administration.Mr. Talarico dominated large urban counties and trounced Mr. Paxton with college educated and young voters as well as Latinos. Mr. Talarico also greatly outperformed Beto O’Rourke’s performance in 2018 when he came within three percentage points of defeating Senator Ted Cruz. He was also outperforming Kamala Harris’s 2024 showing across the state.The overwhelming support for Mr. Talarico was matched by votes for Democratic state lawmaker Gina Hinojosa, who ousted Governor Greg Abbott. With about 57 percent of the vote counted, Ms. Hinojosa led the three-term governor by 14 points. Ms. Hinojosa will be the first Democratic governor — and the first Latina — in the state in more than three decades.

Musk No Match for Texas Democrats as Talarico Defeats Paxton To Turn Senate Seat Blue

Musk No Match for Texas Democrats as Talarico Defeats Paxton To Turn Senate Seat Blue

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