Talarico wins Texas, moving Democrats closer to a Senate majority

Democrat James Talarico is projected to defeat Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, according to Decision Desk HQ, handing Democrats a major statewide win and moving them closer to the four net seats they need for a Senate majority.

Democrat James Talarico is projected to win a Senate seat in Texas, defeating Republican Ken Paxton, according to a Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) projection reported by The Hill.

The Hill described the result as the party’s first major statewide victory in Texas in decades. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take the Senate majority.

Talarico, 37, is a state lawmaker, Presbyterian seminarian and former public school teacher. He raised $64 million in the third quarter, compared with $18 million for Paxton.

President Trump endorsed Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a Republican primary runoff, which Paxton won. Cornyn had won the seat in each cycle since 2002.

Paxton, the state attorney general, was acquitted in a 2023 impeachment on corruption charges. Elon Musk gave $158 million to a super PAC backing him. Talarico accused Musk in October of trying to “buy his own personal U.S. senator.” The two candidates never debated.