Talarico ends three-decade GOP hold on Texas statewide posts

Texas politics has shifted after Democratic State Representative James Talarico secured the U.S. Senate seat. The Associated Press called the race, confirming Talarico's victory over Republican State Attorney General Ken Paxton.

This result ends a three-decade streak in which Republicans held all statewide offices in the state. It also marks the first time a Republican has lost a Texas Senate seat since the 1990s.

Talarico, a four-term state lawmaker from Austin, built a strong base in the state during the 2018 election cycle. He flipped a heavily Republican district that had previously supported Donald Trump for president. A former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, he focused his campaign on education. He strongly opposed efforts to incorporate religion into public schools, including a law requiring a specific Protestant translation of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

The candidate gained national attention in July 2025 through an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience. A follow-up interview for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in February 2026 further boosted his profile. CBS initially declined to air the Colbert segment, likely due to pressure from the Trump administration via the Federal Communications Commission. The clip later went viral on YouTube, turning Talarico into a major fundraiser.

Paxton had never lost a race since entering the Texas House of Representatives in 2002. He defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a primary runoff to win the Republican nomination. That victory came with a last-minute endorsement from President Trump. However, the president's declining popularity may have weighed on Paxton's campaign.

Trump and his allies spent millions to support Paxton. The president frequently attacked Talarico at rallies across the country, using him as a symbol of the Democratic Party. Paxton had expressed concern about this strategy after Trump campaigned for him at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas in September.

Talarico led or tied Paxton in most statewide polls starting in midsummer. He raised more money than Paxton for most of the year. Conservative super PACs supported by the attorney general spent heavily on advertising in the final two months to close the gap. Paxton also faced questions about his record, including a 2023 impeachment by the Texas House over alleged corruption, from which he was acquitted by the Texas Senate, and his ongoing divorce from State Senator Angela Paxton.