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

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.