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Archive photo · 2 July 2025Texas Democrats Win 2026 Midterms as James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa Take Office
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Gina Hinojosa elected Texas governor, first Democrat since 1995. James Talarico elected to the U.S. Senate in Texas.
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Texas turns blue
Texas Democrats won statewide in the 2026 midterms, with James Talarico elected the youngest member of the US Senate and Gina Hinojosa elected governor, ending “For 32 long years” of elusive Democratic victories in the state. Supporters celebrated at “10pm local time” in Austin as Democrats claimed the “ultimate prize: the Lone Star state.”
Texas made history by electing “its first Latina governor” and “the first Democrat governor since 1995,” and it also elected “its first Democratic senator since 1988.” The BBC tied the shift to “a widespread public pushback against President Donald Trump’s handling of his first two years back in office,” while the Guardian framed the result as “Donald Trump’s midterm humiliation.”
Who won, and why
In Texas’s 32nd congressional district near Dallas, Republican Jace Yarbrough defeated Dan Barrios, and Al Jazeera reported that Yarbrough became “the only Republican this year to flip a Texas congressional seat.”
Al Jazeera quoted Matthew Wilson, a professor at Southern Methodist University, saying, “I think he did effectively pivot from a primary strategy to a general election strategy,” and Wilson added that Yarbrough “did talk a lot about lowering prices.”
Talarico defeated Ken Paxton, and Hinojosa beat incumbent governor Greg Abbott, who was running for “a record-fourth term.”
PBS, citing Associated Press reporting, said Republicans kept control of the state Senate while Democrats took control of the Texas House after “historic wins for governor and U.S. Senate.”
Mandate and next fights
James Talarico said, “This is a win the size of Texas. And now we have a mandate the size of Texas,” as supporters gathered at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin.
The election put pressure on Democrats to deliver after voters were “angry over the rising cost of living, high gas prices, inflation and the lack of affordable housing,” and it listed policy areas including “tax rates and abortion rights, school choice and education funding.”
Democrats will have to redraw congressional maps after Trump urged eight Republican-led states to do so, and it reported that “But that backfired, with Republicans losing most of the Democratic-held seats they had targeted to flip.”
Al Jazeera said Republicans will start the next congressional term in January with 24 representatives from Texas, losing one seat to Democrats, while Democrats will have 14 House seats filled by Texans.