Democrats seize control of Congress after Talarico and Hinojosa flip Texas despite Trump's 'Talafreako' taunts and Musk's millions
James Talarico's post on X celebrating victory, as his 12-point win over Ken Paxton ended a 38-year Republican stranglehold on the Texas Senate seat despite Elon Musk's $47 million personal backing of Paxton.Ken Paxton addresses supporters after his defeat, thanking his family and Texans — a loss that also stung Donald Trump, who had personally endorsed Paxton over the more electable John Cornyn.
James Talarico, a 37-year-old former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, beat scandal-plagued Republican Ken Paxton by roughly 12 points, marking the first time a Democrat had won a Texas Senate seat since 1988. On the same night, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Greg Abbott to become both the first Latina governor of Texas and the first Democrat to hold the office since 1990.
Elon Musk's political action committee pumped $47m into Paxton's campaign alone — alongside $158m to the Senate Leadership Fund — yet Tesla and SpaceX shares dropped 4.9% and 3.4% the following morning.
Trump's choice to endorse Paxton over long-serving senator John Cornyn — whom he labelled insufficiently loyal — proved a catastrophic miscalculation; Republican leaders had privately urged him to avoid the gamble.
Democrat Katy Padilla Stout also flipped Texas' 23rd Congressional District after Republicans put forward YouTube personality Brandon Herrera, whose Nazi jokes and crude remarks about women haunted his campaign throughout.
