In Texas midterm elections on November 5, 2026, Democrats won every major statewide office on the ballot and flipped control of the Texas House. Republicans blamed the loss on various causes, including party leadership and the candidacy of Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate.
Where
Statewide
When
Nov. 5, 2026
Sources
Reported by 2 outlets
Taxes and money
None stated in sources.
Who's involved
James TalaricoDemocratic Senate candidate
Ken PaxtonRepublican Attorney General and Senate candidate
Don HuffinesTexas Comptroller who lost bid for full term
John CornynFormer U.S. Senator who lost May primary runoff
Greg AbbottTexas Governor
Dan PatrickTexas official
Derrick WilsonChairman of Texas Young Republican Federation
Decker RenoRepublican staffer
Jerry PattersonFormer Texas Land Commissioner
The facts
Democrats won every major statewide office on the ballot.1
Comptroller Don Huffines lost his bid for a full term after three months on the job.1
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn lost the May primary runoff to Attorney General Ken Paxton.1
Former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson warned Republicans a spanking was coming on Election Day.1
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
Don Huffines Leadership and Abbott, Patrick, and mushy middle people caused the loss.1
John Cornyn Ken Paxton's nomination forced voters to choose between policy and personal character, a suicidal proposition for GOP.1
John Cornyn Paxton shrank the tent, obsessing over RINOs and political theater.1
Derrick Wilson Paxton was a terrible candidate and a drag on the ballot, though not the only cause.1
James Talarico He is a moderate progressive with strong Christian values campaigning in border and urban districts.2
Where the sources disagree
Which candidate led in polls for the Senate race between Talarico and Paxton Unclear, within or close to margin of error per [2]; Paxton had not managed to gain edge despite Trump backing per [2]
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
Texas: The Democratic bet in the midterms to gauge Republican loss of support
These outlets were found through Google News headlines. Google decides which outlets appear there, and they lean mostly one way, so this sheet can only be as balanced as the reporting it was built from. Leanings are AllSides Media Bias Ratings.
Gina Hinojosa won election as Texas governor and another Democrat won U.S. Senate from Texas for the first time since 1988 and 1990 respectively. Gov.-elect Hinojosa stated she will maintain a freeze on new data center authorizations ordered by outgoing Governor Greg Abbott.
$nearly nine million dollars for campaign contributions
Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect; Talarico, U.S. Senate-elect (first name not given); Jorge Renaud, Voter and 5 more
Texas senator-elect James Talarico made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live's cold open, interrupting a sketch about President Donald Trump's midterm loss. Comedian Druski hosted the episode with musical guest The Strokes.
James Talarico, Texas senator-elect who appeared in the cold open; Druski, Host of Saturday Night Live; James Austin Johnson, Actor playing Trump in cold open sketch and 2 more
Matthew Shane Zachary was arrested and charged with murder in connection with a homicide at a residence in Gaines County. The Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers are leading the investigation with assistance from the Gaines County Sheriff's Office.
$$750,000 for bond
Matthew Shane Zachary, Suspect arrested and charged with murder; Gaines County Sheriff's Office, Law enforcement investigating homicide; Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers, Leading the investigation
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said in a CNN interview that the state should pause work with data centers until protections for residents are in place. She promised to introduce laws to change the state's approach and said communities should have a role in deciding whether data centers are built there.
Democrats in the Texas Legislature filed legislation Monday as bill filing opened for the 2027 session. Proposals included Medicaid expansion, minimum wage increases, ending data center tax breaks, banning Flock cameras, repealing ICE partnership requirements for sheriffs, forbidding border wall construction at state parks, ending school vouchers, boosting per-pupil school funding, legalizing marijuana, and building high-speed rail from Dallas to San Antonio.
$up to $10 billion a year for medicaid expansion annual funding to Texas
State Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, filed Medicaid expansion bill; State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, filed companion Medicaid bill; Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, filed school nurse notification bill and 3 more
El Paso County Sheriff's Office arrested 38-year-old Laron Lenard Watts and charged him with theft of property valued at $150,000 or more after he reportedly refused to return a shipment of fiber-optic cable, trailer, and container worth $155,000 total following a payment dispute.
$$155,000 for estimated value of property (shipping container, trailer chassis, fiber-optic cable)
Laron Lenard Watts, 38-year-old man arrested and charged with theft; El Paso County Sheriff's Office, law enforcement agency conducting investigation and making arrest
Texas is considering a moratorium on new data centers while studying their effects on the electrical grid. Researchers found that synchronized battery systems and data center backup power devices cause regular frequency drops in power grids, though not considered an immediate threat to stability.
Governor Greg Abbott, Governor; Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Grid operator; Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), Regulatory body and 2 more