James Talarico won the U.S. Senate election in Texas on Tuesday night, defeating Republican Ken Paxton. Talarico is the first Democrat from Texas elected to the U.S. Senate since 1988, according to the report.
Talarico campaigned on an economic populist message and avoided culture-war topics, focusing on the cost of living. Pre-election polls showed him drawing more independent voters than Paxton and winning over some Republicans who had voted for Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.
Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress on Tuesday night. Texas's senators are now split, with Republican Ted Cruz set to become the state's senior senator in January. Results showed every county shifted toward Democrats, with some of the largest shifts along the southern border and Talarico winning counties surrounding Dallas.