Texas voters elected Democrat James Talarico to the Senate Tuesday, flipping the Lone Star State blue for the first time in decades and achieving what many political insiders once thought was impossible.
With 68% of the vote reported, Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton by around 12 points, though his final margin is currently projected to settle closer to around five points. Decision Desk HQ called the race around 10:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Democrat built a coalition of young, independent, black, and Hispanic voters to overcome the state’s strong conservative fundamentals. Talarico, the leftist Presbyterian seminarian who believes God is ‘non-binary,’ is exceeding expectations in key suburban areas, including Fort Worth and Denton and Collin counties.
The results largely mirror what public polling long predicted, dealing a significant blow to GOP hopes of keeping Senate control. In 2024, President Donald Trump carried the state by a commanding 14-point margin, underscoring the dramatic shift in voter sentiment as voters fumed over gas prices, the war with Iran, and political corruption.
Talarico’s victory marks a remarkable breakthrough for Texas Democrats, who had not won a U.S. Senate election since 1988, when Lloyd Bentsen secured a fourth term. Economic anxiety and controversies surrounding Ken Paxton’s personal conduct weighed on the race, complicating Republicans’ efforts to craft a clear message against Talarico.
Paxton’s personal life became a focal point of the campaign. His estranged wife, Angela, filed for divorce in July 2025 after 38 years of marriage, citing “recent discoveries” of adultery and seeking separation on “biblical grounds.” The couple had been living apart since June 2024, according to The Texas Tribune.
“I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” Angela said in July 2025. “But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.”
“I move forward with complete confidence that God is always working everything together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose,” she added.
In the final stretch of the campaign, Angela, herself a Republican state lawmaker, appeared in a Republican campaign ad endorsing the GOP ticket without mentioning her husband by name.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders in Washington spent tens of millions of dollars attacking Paxton during the bruising primary, hoping to save incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. The attacks, which focused on Paxton’s corruption and marital infidelity, exposed divisions within the party and threatened to alienate conservative Christian voters.
Backers of Cornyn largely relied on an electability argument in the primary that they’ll now argue is vindicated. His supporters argued Cornyn had a better chance of winning a general election due to his cleaner personal record and stronger electoral history, despite being seen by some of the Republican base as weaker on policy and support for Trump.
Trump angered much of the Republican Senate caucus by tipping the scales in favor of Paxton, who has long been a loyal foot soldier of the president.
Those concerns were evident among evangelicals. Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, described the choice facing voters as the “lesser of two evils,” warning that Paxton’s record had left some Christians reluctant to support him.
“Well, to be honest, I’m seeing more concern this time around than I have in any other recent election. Conservative Christians are troubled by Ken Paxton’s past, and I think they’re weighing right now whether they’re going to vote for the lesser of two evils or just stay at home,” Jeffress previously told The Daily Wire.
Tuesday night’s results did not come without warning. GOP leaders, with the help of billionaire Elon Musk, poured unprecedented sums of money to boost Paxton and energize voters. Repeatedly, President Trump and Vice President Vance parachuted into Texas to rally support for Paxton. It wasn’t enough.
And on policy, Talarico is poised to become one of the Senate’s most liberal members.
Over the summer and into the fall, The Daily Wire exposed Talarico’s progressive worldview, challenging his efforts to portray himself to voters and the media as a Christian moderate. The Daily Wire’s reporting highlighted his fixation on transgender children, his favorite drag queen, and belief that God is nonbinary and that there are six genders. Exclusive undercover footage of his Austin church caught clergy members doubting Jesus ever existed and rejecting the purpose of the crucifixion. In other Daily Wire exclusives, Talarico admitted on video his transgender views “haven’t changed,” and his own pastor said he was changing his tune for votes.
“I can guarantee you that once he gets elected, he’ll change his tune back to where he was,” Rev. Babs Miller, a lesbian minister at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, said.
Yet many voters appeared willing to look past Talarico’s leftist positions on transgender issues, abortion, and the state’s oil and gas economy, electing a senator who has vowed to challenge the Trump administration and even transform the Supreme Court for partisan gain.
The results could also represent the biggest political blow to Trump since his 2020 election defeat. The president personally endorsed Paxton ahead of the primary and confidently predicted Talarico would lose to either Republican nominee.
“I’ll tell you what I do think — I think the Democrats have a weird, a weird candidate. Six genders, a real hit on Jesus,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “Texas doesn’t like vegans. I do believe either one of them will easily win the race,” the president added, calling Talarico “a very flawed, very weak” and “pathetic candidate,” especially for Texas.
Now, Trump will have to bear the burden of losing Texas — the Republican Party’s biggest electoral prize, and one no conservative presidential nominee can afford to lose.
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