Democrats won Texas governor, a U.S. Senate seat and multiple state offices in
the midterms — the first Democratic sweep in the state in 32 years. Early counts
show Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico leading Ken Paxton 55% to 43%
and state representative Gina Hinojosa leading incumbent Governor Greg Abbott
53% to 46%. The result reflected voter dissatisfaction with Trump and centered
on rising living costs, tariff-driven price increases and the Iran war;
Republican efforts to shift focus to cultural issues underperformed. Democrat
campaigns ran relatively moderate platforms emphasizing the economy and public
education. Elon Musk-backed PACs spent more than $205 mln in Texas contests this
year but failed to stop Democratic advances, including gains in traditionally
Republican rural areas and among Latino voters.
