In the 2026 midterm elections held Tuesday, Democrats won statewide races in Texas and flipped Congressional seats. Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate by 12 percentage points, and Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Governor Greg Abbott, seeking a fourth term, by 7 points. In Congressional races, Democrat Bobby Pulido defeated Republican Monica De La Cruz in the 15th District, and Democrat Katy Padilla Stout won the vacant 23rd District seat.
Where
Statewide
When
Nov. 3, 2026
Sources
Reported by 4 outlets
Taxes and money
None stated in sources.
Who's involved
James TalaricoDemocrat who won Texas U.S. Senate race
Ken PaxtonRepublican candidate in Texas U.S. Senate race
Gina HinojosaDemocrat who won Texas governor's race
Greg AbbottRepublican governor seeking fourth term
Bobby PulidoDemocrat who won Texas Congressional District 15
Monica De La CruzRepublican representative defeated in Congressional District 15
Katy Padilla StoutDemocrat who won Texas Congressional District 23
Henry CuellarDemocratic representative
Vicente GonzalezDemocratic representative
The facts
Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in the midterm elections.2
Control of both the House and Senate changed hands in the same midterm for the first time since 2006.2
James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton by 12 percentage points in the Texas U.S. Senate race.2
This was the Democratic party's first Senate race victory in Texas since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988.2
Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott, seeking a fourth term as governor, by 7 points.2
Bobby Pulido won Texas Congressional District 15, defeating Monica De La Cruz.2
Katy Padilla Stout won Texas Congressional District 23, which had been vacant since Tony Gonzales resigned in April.2
Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, Democratic representatives, defeated their Republican opponents.2
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
Exit poll results from Associated Press 71% of voters said Congress must do more to check the president.2
Exit poll results from Associated Press 62% of voters directly blamed the president for higher prices.2
Exit poll results from Associated Press Three-quarters of voters were angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country.2
Exit poll results from Associated Press More than 60% of voters disapproved of Trump's performance.2
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
‘Democrats need to not blow it’: our panel reacts to the historic midterms
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
Democrats won a landslide victory in Tuesday's midterm election. Voters in 10 states rejected data center expansion in 40 of 41 local ballot measures. In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa was elected governor, the first Democrat since 1990, and pledged a statewide moratorium on data center approvals.
$$4.4 billion for debt owed by CoreWeave
Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas, Democrat; Michael Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave; Democrats, Party that won midterm election and 1 more
Matthew Shane Zachary was arrested and charged with murder in connection with a homicide at a residence in Gaines County. The Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers are leading the investigation with assistance from the Gaines County Sheriff's Office.
$$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