Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has won the U.S. Senate race in Texas, according to a race call from the Associated Press. He defeated Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close ally of President Trump. The race was one of the most closely watched and expensive contests this year. The story says the result breaks a three-decade run of Republican wins in Texas statewide races.
Trump and his allies spent millions of dollars on the race, and Trump often attacked Talarico at campaign rallies across the country. Paxton defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a primary runoff after a last-minute endorsement from Trump. The story says Trump's support may have hurt Paxton in the general election, because the president's popularity has dropped below water.
Talarico is a former San Antonio middle school teacher and a Presbyterian seminarian. He focused his campaign on education and opposed efforts to bring religion into public schools. Paxton faced questions about his record, including his 2023 impeachment by the Texas House, which the Texas Senate later acquitted him in, and his ongoing divorce from state Sen. Angela Paxton.