# Talarico wins Texas Senate race despite Musk-backed spending for Paxton

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/elon-musks-millions-fail-to-deliver-texas-for-the-republicans-in-fierce-midterms/
- Published: 2026-11-04T20:33:05+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T02:48:12+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Technology (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv8ez3p3ge5ko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Business, Elections, Politics, Technology

## Key points

- Talarico beat Paxton in Texas despite Musk’s backing.
- Musk spent nearly $450m supporting Republican candidates.
- Democratic gains could mean more scrutiny for tech firms.

## Summary

Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in Texas’s US Senate race, one of the most notable results in a broad Democratic victory that gave the party control of Congress. The result came despite Elon Musk spending heavily to support Republican candidates, raising questions about whether his political influence translated into electoral success.

Musk spent nearly $450m backing Republicans during the election cycle, including at least $45m in support of Paxton, according to the article. Democrats’ gains could bring greater scrutiny of technology companies and their government contracts, as well as pressure to regulate data centres. On Wednesday, Tesla and SpaceX shares fell 4.9% and 3.4% respectively, while Musk stopped posting about politics on X.

## Coverage

- [BBC Technology: Talarico wins Texas Senate race despite Musk-backed spending for Paxton](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv8ez3p3ge5ko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [Daily Mail: Anguished man screams 'No' at Ken Paxton HQ as Texas Senate race is called for Democrat James Talarico](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16264625/Man-screams-No-Ken-Paxton-HQ-Texas-Senate-race-called.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [The Verge: Talarico wins Texas Senate race despite Musk’s $200m Republican spending](https://www.theverge.com/policy/1026329/elon-musk-paxton-talarico-texas-election-funding)
- [Fox News: Texas Senate victor James Talarico lays out common ground with Trump, vows to 'work together'](https://www.foxnews.com/media/texas-senate-victor-james-talarico-lays-out-common-ground-trump-vows-work-together)

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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.