Talarico, Hinojosa notch historic wins in shocking Texas election

Houston Chronicle · Jarrod Wardwell, Samantha Ketterer, Ashley Soebroto, Sarah Smith · 2026-11-03 11:55 UTC

Texas voters went to the polls today in a historic election featuring the Talarico-Paxton Senate race and Greg Abbott’s bid for a record fourth term.

After months of anticipation and an onslaught of political ads, voters across Texas went to the polls Tuesday in what has proven to be a historic midterm cycle.

Democrats took off to an early lead and appeared victorious in major races for the U.S. Senate and statewide office. State Rep. James Talarico beat state Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton to flip a Senate seat, while state Rep. Gina Hinjosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in his bid for a record fourth term.

Democrats were on track to hold their seats in Congress, even in the 9th District, which was redrawn to favor Republicans. And in Houston, Democrat Letitia Plummer defeated Republican Orlando Sanchez to succeed Lina Hidalgo as county judge.

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