Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton to win a U.S. Senate seat in Texas. The victory makes Talarico the first Democrat to win a statewide race there since 1994 and the first to win a Senate seat since 1988. He is 37 and serves in the state legislature, and his win marks a significant political shift in a reliably Republican state.
The race drew national attention for Elon Musk’s support of Paxton. Musk’s PAC contributed at least $47 million to the Republican effort in Texas. Musk also used X to personally attack Talarico and promote negative stories about him.
In his victory speech, Talarico referred to the financial disparity, saying, “We just sent a message to every billionaire mega-donor.”