By Staff, Agencies

Democrats have secured victories in both the US Senate race and the gubernatorial election in Texas, delivering a major setback to Republicans in a state that President Donald Trump won by double digits in the 2024 presidential election.

NBC News projected that Democratic candidate James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate contest, while CNN’s Decision Desk projected that Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who had been seeking a fourth term. Hinojosa said Abbott had called her to concede, according to NBC’s Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate.

Talarico, a four-term state representative from Austin, became the first Democrat to win a US Senate election in Texas since 1988 and the first Democratic candidate to secure a statewide victory in the state since 1994.

Decision Desk HQ declared Talarico the winner at approximately 9:15 p.m. Eastern time, with the Democrat receiving around 55 percent of the vote compared with Paxton’s 43 percent, The Texan reported.

Talarico campaigned on addressing wealth inequality and corruption, while presenting himself as a political check on the Trump administration. He also overcame what NBC described as a $168 million advertising campaign against him, backed by billionaire Elon Musk.

NBC characterized the outcome as a rebuke of the MAGA movement in a state Trump has carried in three consecutive presidential elections.

Meanwhile, Hinojosa, a 52-year-old state representative from Austin and former school board president, secured the governorship after campaigning on public dissatisfaction with economic conditions, the expansion of data centers and the need to improve public education.

Early vote counts reported by The Associated Press showed Hinojosa leading Abbott by approximately 57 percent to 41 percent.

Abbott, who has served as Texas governor since 2015, entered the race with substantial campaign funds and an extensive political network, making a Democratic victory appear unlikely earlier in the campaign.

The Senate contest was also shaped by divisions within the Republican Party following Paxton’s victory in the May primary runoff.

Paxton, who was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives in 2023 before being acquitted by the state Senate, secured the Republican nomination after receiving Trump's endorsement over incumbent Senator John Cornyn.

Cornyn became the first Texas senator to lose a renomination bid since 1970, while Trump's intervention in the primary exposed divisions within Republican ranks that continued throughout the general election campaign.

During the election campaign, several prominent Republicans publicly declared their support for Talarico rather than backing Paxton. In October, Trump warned that Cornyn and Republican strategist Karl Rove would be responsible if Paxton lost the Senate race.

In another significant development, Democrats also secured control of the US House of Representatives, according to projections by NBC News, marking a broader electoral setback for Republicans.