Democrat James Talarico won a US Senate seat in Texas, defeating Republican Ken Paxton. The victory marks the first time a Democrat has won a Senate seat in Texas since 1988.
Talarico, a former schoolteacher and state legislator, centered his campaign on rising costs of living. He beat Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary before facing Paxton.
Paxton, the state's attorney general, had faced political setbacks including impeachment by his own party in 2023 on corruption accusations and later acquittal by the state Senate. He was also indicted on federal fraud charges that were later dismissed. Billionaire Elon Musk contributed $158 million to a super PAC supporting Paxton's campaign.
The race became the most expensive US Senate contest in history, with spending exceeding half a billion dollars. Paxton campaigned alongside Trump and sought to portray Talarico's views as too progressive for Texas.
Two members of the Bush family backed Talarico, a departure from the Republican political dynasty's traditional alignment.
At his victory event in Austin, Talarico stated: "We just took back Texas" and "We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas."
The result coincided with another upset in Texas in which Democrat Greg Abbott defeated the state's Republican governor, marked as the first gubernatorial win for a Democrat in the state since the 1990s. Quardricos Driskell, a political science professor at George Washington University, called Talarico's win combined with Abbott's defeat "absolutely historic."