# ‘A win the size of Texas’: Democrats celebrate shrinking Republican dominance in a big state

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/a-win-the-size-of-texas-democrats-celebrate-shrinking-republican-dominance-in-a-big-state/
- Published: 2026-11-04T13:16:33+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T10:57:39+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/texas-democrats-victory-talarico-hinojosa
- Topics: Americas, Elections, Government, Politics, Software, Technology, World

## Key points

- Democrats won Texas’s Senate and governor races.
- Talarico defeated Trump-backed Ken Paxton.
- Voters cited integrity, costs and dissatisfaction with MAGA politics.

## Summary

James Talarico’s victory in the Texas Senate race and Gina Hinojosa’s election as governor ended decades without a Democratic statewide win, as voters celebrated a major shift in the state’s political balance. Their wins also helped Democrats regain control of the US Senate and marked a setback for Donald Trump’s midterm campaign.

Talarico defeated scandal-plagued, Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, while Hinojosa beat incumbent Greg Abbott, who had sought a record fourth term. Texas last elected a Democratic senator in 1988 and a Democratic governor in 1990; voters quoted in Austin pointed to corruption, living costs and dissatisfaction with MAGA politics as factors in the result.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.