Talarico defeats Paxton to win Texas Senate seat

James Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race on November 3, 2026. The Democratic candidate won by nearly 10 points, ending more than three decades of Republican control in the state's Senate delegation.

Talarico celebrated the result at a watch party held at the Long Center in Austin. He framed the election as a struggle against wealthy donors and the national political establishment. He compared the race to the biblical story of David and Goliath, telling the crowd that the people of Texas served as his slingshot.

“In this race, we went up against our own Goliaths: the richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world, and the entire Washington, D.C., establishment,” Talarico said. “David wasn’t as big or as strong as Goliath. He didn’t have as many weapons, but he had hope, he had faith, and he had a slingshot. You were my slingshot. The people of Texas were my slingshot. And tonight, we defeated Goliath.”

The candidate emphasized a message of unity and faith throughout the campaign. He argued that voters from both parties were ready for a different approach to governance. “People across the political spectrum are hungry for a different kind of politics,” he told the audience. “Not a politics of hate, not a politics of fear, not a politics of division, but a politics of love. My faith teaches me that love is the strongest force in the universe.”

Local residents noted the historic nature of the win. Lloyd Hocutt, who has lived in Austin since 1995, said he had never witnessed a Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas. He credited Talarico's open discussion of his faith for attracting support from Independent and Republican voters.

“I think he’s a true believer in his faith, and he hasn’t backed away from it or shied away from it,” Hocutt said. “And some people may be turned off to that, but I welcome it. I thought it was really good for him to keep doing that the entire time.”

The Republican campaign launched a series of attack ads using artificial intelligence to challenge Talarico's reputation. Elon Musk also invested approximately $200 million in the race to help retain the seat for the GOP. Despite these efforts, Talarico maintained a lead in the vote count from the start of reporting.

Talarico described the final push by the GOP as the final howls of a dying establishment. He stated that he plans to use his new position to repair relationships with colleagues in the national capital. “We can’t defeat the politics of division with more division,” he said. “We can’t win that game. We have to change the game.”