Talarico’s early votes alone topped Paxton’s entire haul

Houston Chronicle · Aarón Torres · 2026-11-05 22:57 UTC

James Talarico beat Ken Paxton in Texas’ Senate race after a huge early vote helped Democrats sweep statewide contests.

AUSTIN – If James Talarico had not received a single vote on Election Day, he still would have defeated Ken Paxton.

Talarico, an Austin state representative, received nearly 4.4 million votes during early voting and another million on Election Day, powering his victory in the Senate race.

Paxton, his Republican opponent and attorney general, finished with about 4.2 million votes overall.

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