Democrat James Talarico said Wednesday that his victory over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race delivered a direct message to Elon Musk, who poured money into the effort to elect Paxton: "Texas is not for sale."
Speaking on "CBS Mornings" hours after his win, Talarico described the result as an opportunity to get big money out of politics "for good." "The people of Texas delivered a crystal-clear message to the world's first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale," he said. "The power in this state, in this country, belongs to the people and we've got to make sure it stays that way."
Talarico cast his defeat of Paxton as a mandate to overhaul the campaign finance system and "clean up government" by limiting the influence of megadonors such as Musk.
Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, donated more than $158 million in September to the main super PAC backing Senate Republicans in the midterm elections. That group, the Senate Leadership Fund PAC, then sent money to Texas PAC, the political organization supporting Paxton in the race. Musk's trust also gave $10 million to the Lone Star Liberty PAC, which worked to get Paxton elected.
Pressed on why Musk spent so heavily to defeat him, Talarico said he believes the billionaire "wanted his very own personal senator." "He wanted a senator who was going to do his bidding, who was going to sell off Texas land to his data centers, who was going to give our Texas water, who was going to give our taxpayer dollars," Talarico said. He added that he has a history in state government of standing up to billionaires and tackling corruption, and said that is what he intends to do in the U.S. Senate on behalf of Texans.
Elsewhere in Texas, Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa is projected to defeat Republican Gov. Abbott, making her the first Democrat to win the governor's mansion in more than 30 years. Abbott had been seeking a fourth term.
Nationally, Democrats are projected to win 10 of the 11 Senate races considered battlegrounds. The Alaska Senate race remains rated a toss-up, as does the Mississippi contest, where Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is trailing Democrat Scott Colom by 43 votes. Democrats are expected to control the upper chamber in the next Congress and hold 54 seats.
"We saw a win the size of Texas, and that means we have a mandate the size of Texas," Talarico said of his party's Senate successes. With Democrats in control, he said the party must enact economic policies that work for all Americans, pass universal healthcare and invest in education, goals he said must be pursued "on a bipartisan basis, working with both parties to deliver for people in our state."
Talarico also said the outcome showed Americans are rejecting political division and are "tired" of tech company owners using their platforms to turn people against one another. "They continually pit us against each other," he said. "They divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, by culture so we don't notice that they're picking our pockets, that they are closing our public schools, that they're gutting our healthcare, that they're raising taxes on all of us while they cut taxes for themselves."
With Democrats projected to control the Senate, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is expected to seek a second stint as Senate majority leader. Asked whether he would back Schumer, Talarico said he hopes to sit down with him and "hear about his vision" for the Senate and the country.
