James Talarico Defeats Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Race

Democrat James Talarico has won a Texas Senate seat, NBC News projects, defeating Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race that ends 38 years of Republican control of the seat. The last time a Democrat won a Texas Senate race was 1988, according to NBC News.

The win came in a state President Donald Trump carried three times, NBC News reported. Talarico, a sitting state lawmaker who is also studying to become a seminarian, built his campaign around a message of economic grievance rather than the party-versus-party framing typical of statewide races.

"Top versus bottom instead of left versus right," Talarico told supporters, arguing that the wealthiest Americans wanted the public fighting each other instead of holding power to account, according to NBC News.

How Did Talarico Build His Coalition?

Talarico entered the race as a state legislator with limited statewide name recognition and leaned on themes of wealth disparity and government corruption to introduce himself to voters, NBC News reported. He also wove in Christian themes drawn from his seminary studies, a combination the network described as an attempt "to transcend traditional politics" in a state where Democrats had not won a Senate seat in decades.

Why Did Ken Paxton Lose?

Paxton, the state's Republican attorney general, had "battled personal scandals for years," NBC News reported, yet still secured Trump's endorsement over sitting GOP Sen. John Cornyn in the primary. In the general election, a number of prominent Republicans publicly distanced themselves from Paxton's candidacy, according to NBC News, and the network reported that "I told you so's" among Republicans began circulating before polls had even closed.

What Role Did Outside Spending Play?

NBC News reported that Talarico's win came despite a $168 million advertising effort backed by what the network described as "the world's wealthiest man." The scale of that spending underscores how competitive national Republicans and allied donors viewed the seat, even in a state Trump has carried in each of his three presidential campaigns.

By the Numbers

• 38 years: span since a Democrat last won a Texas Senate race, before Talarico's victory, per NBC News.
• $168 million: ad spending against Talarico's campaign cited by NBC News.

What Happens Next in Texas Politics?

The outcome removes a Republican incumbent-aligned figure from statewide office in a state the GOP has controlled at the Senate level since 1988, and it arrives in the broader context of the 2026 midterms, which NBC News is tracking through live results coverage. Texas Republicans backed Paxton over a sitting senator in the primary; how the party absorbs the loss, and whether it reshapes future statewide recruitment, was not addressed in the reporting reviewed.

NBC News' projection was based on its own election-night analysis; full certified results from Texas election authorities were not yet available at the time of reporting.