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FULL: James Talarico speech after Texas Senate victory
James Talarico delivers his victory speech after defeating Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, celebrating supporters and declaring that Texas has been reclaimed by the people.
DALLAS - Texas has elected a Democratic U.S. senator for the first time in decades.
Democrat James Talarcio defeated Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race that had been closely watched by pollsters for months.
The backstory:
Talarico is the first Democrat to win a statewide office since 1994, and the first Democratic U.S. senator to be elected in Texas since 1988.
TOPSHOT - Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico waves as he celebrates after winning the Texas race during a midterm election night watch party at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas, on November 3, 2026. Democrat James T
Why did Texas turn blue?
By the numbers:
Based on data from the Associated Press, the parts of Texas that have high Latino populations turned to Democrats by wide margins.
That swing was boosted by huge shifts to Democrats in the most populous parts of the state, such as Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso.
Voters in the middle also led to Democratic wins in Texas. Those voters swung left by about 30 points between the 2024 presidential election and the 2026 midterms.
What’s even more surprising, is that moderate Republicans shifted to the left by nearly the same margin as voters in the middle.
Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth, swung to Democrats by nearly 30 points between 2024 and 2026.
Texas governor's race breaks the same
Dig deeper:
Democratic Texas State Rep. Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to win the state's highest office from the three-term incumbent.
She is the first Latina woman to be elected governor of Texas and the first Democratic governor since former Gov. Ann Richards, who served from 1991 to 1995.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 3: Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa speaks during her election night watch party at Assembly Hall on November 3, 2026 in Austin, Texas. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa is the projected winner of the
AP data tells a similar story about the governor's race. Hinojosa was boosted to victory by huge margins in her home part of the state – South Texas.
The Source: Information in this story came from analysis of Associated Press data and previous FOX Local reporting.