Texas may be about to send a Democrat to the U.S. Senate for the first time in nearly four decades.
Decision Desk HQ projected at 10:14 p.m. ET Tuesday that Democratic state Rep. James Talarico will defeat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, Twitchy reported. The Associated Press had not called the race.
Talarico led Paxton 58.1% to 40.4% with about 58% of the expected vote counted around 10:30 p.m. ET, according to AP totals cited by the Washington Examiner. Much of the uncounted vote was in the Democratic-leaning Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas, the Examiner reported.
No Democrat has won a Senate race in Texas since 1988.
How Paxton Got Here
Paxton won the nomination by ousting Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary. That set up a general election that drew national attention and huge spending on both sides.
Talarico, a former teacher and seminarian, ran as a faith-focused Democrat. Paxton ran as a staunch Trump ally while carrying the baggage of years of legal and personal controversies.
On election night, “Talarico,” “Paxton” and “Texas” were all top trends on X, and “James Talarico” was the No. 2 political search on Google.
A Talarico win would be another blow to Senate Republicans. Earlier in the night, Democrats flipped North Carolina and held Georgia and New Hampshire, according to the AP.
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