State Representative James Talarico won the US Senate race in Texas on Tuesday (November 3), according to media projections, defeating President Donald Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton to end Democrats’ 32-year statewide losing streak and give his party a major boost in the battle for Senate control.

Supporters of Talarico were seen celebrating jubilantly at a watch party in Austin. One supporter, Rob Trevino, 38, said "the fact that we can do this, it means that we can be better... it means everything."

It was a striking Democratic breakthrough in a state Republicans have long dominated. Trump carried the state by 14 percentage points in 2024. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, has been at the center of controversies that include a 2023 impeachment and a securities fraud case.

Talarico, a four-term state legislator and one of the nation’s top Senate fundraisers, overcame heavy outside spending in the most expensive Senate race of the cycle. He began as an underdog against former US Representative Colin Allred, the 2024 Democratic Senate nominee, who later withdrew to run for Congress again.

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AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 3, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS OF US SENATOR-ELECT FOR TEXAS, JAMES TALARICO, CELEBRATING AFTER HIS WIN IS ANNOUNCED

2. SUPPORTER LOOKING ON

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) 38-YEAR-OLD TALARICO SUPPORTER, ROB TREVINO, SAYING:

"I was not expecting this because I spent my whole life not seeing this. And, you know, I've met James Talarico, I've met Gina Hinojosa (Democratic governor-elect), they're both incredibly kind and capable people of character, that's not something we see all the time."

4. SUPPORTER CLAPPING

5. SUPPORTER LOOKING ON

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) 38-YEAR-OLD TALARICO SUPPORTER, ROB TREVINO, SAYING:

"Well, the fact that we can do this, it means that we can be better and we can do better things. And we can have what we need in our lives. Yeah, I don't... it means everything."

7. SUPPORTERS EMBRACING AND CHEERING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) 49-YEAR-OLD TALARICO SUPPORTER, KATIE GRAHAM, SAYING:

"I mean, it’s what Texas is. This feels like what Texas voters are to me, what I've seen, on the doorstep. This is exactly right. I feel like Texas is finally seen for who we are now."

9. VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS CELEBRATING