Democrat James Talarico is projected to defeat Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate election, according to CBS News, delivering a seat Democrats had long sought to win. The projected result flips the Republican-held seat following a closely watched contest that offered Democrats an opening in the state.
Talarico, 37, entered the race as a former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who describes himself as a progressive Christian. His campaign emphasized reducing costs and confronting corruption. Democrats viewed the contest as their first genuine opportunity to win a Texas Senate election since 1988, giving the race particular significance for the party.
Paxton, the 63-year-old Texas attorney general, secured the Republican nomination by defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a runoff. Cornyn had represented Texas in the Senate since 2002. Paxton's primary victory came with the backing of President Trump, who endorsed him shortly before the runoff.
After Paxton became the nominee, Democrats believed his personal controversies and more conservative positions strengthened their prospects. Many Republicans, meanwhile, expressed frustration at the prospect of spending millions of dollars to retain the Texas seat. By mid-October, the contest had become the most expensive Senate race in the state's history.
Paxton's record and personal life drew scrutiny throughout the campaign. In 2023, the Texas House impeached him over allegations involving bribery, obstruction of justice and abuse of the public trust. The state Senate subsequently acquitted him. During the election campaign, he was also involved in contentious divorce proceedings.
Further reporting during the race said Paxton had spent New Year's Eve in 2024 at a party in Dubai alongside two U.S. fugitives and a woman who was not his wife. His campaign condemned the coverage without denying the account and maintained that he had been subjected to political persecution.
Republicans sought to portray Talarico as too extreme for Texas, highlighting earlier remarks about subjects including veganism and gender. Talarico later described some of his comments as "cringey." His absence from campaigning for more than a week in October also prompted Republican questions and conspiracy theories about his whereabouts. Talarico said he had a bad case of the flu. That attention appeared to subside after his campaign shared material that seemed to show him at his Texas home during the absence.
