On Election Day, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming the first Latina elected governor of Texas. Democrat James Talarico also defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race. The results ended a streak of more than three decades in which Republicans had won statewide office in Texas.
ABC News projected that Democrats would also take control of both the U.S. House and Senate.
West Texas A&M University political science professor Dave Rausch said the outcome was unexpected for him, even though the president's party often loses seats in midterm elections. Rausch said President Donald Trump's involvement in Republican primaries may have contributed to the losses. He pointed to the Senate race, where longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn lost the nomination to Paxton. Rausch also said primary turnout often favors a party's most enthusiastic voters, and that some dissatisfied Republicans may have stayed home.
Rausch said he plans to study voter turnout, registration numbers and county-by-county results. He said one open question is whether independent voters shifted their support or whether Democrats were more successful in getting their supporters to vote.