Democrat James Talarico won the Texas U.S. Senate seat in the 2026 midterm elections. The race was vacated as Senator John Cornyn did not seek re-election. Republican Ken Paxton ran for the seat. Ted Cruz, the remaining statewide elected Republican in Texas, called the GOP results a "Watergate-level repudiation."
Where
Statewide
When
Nov. 3, 2026
Sources
Reported by 7 outlets
Taxes and money
The sources don't state an effect on taxes. They do state these figures.
Campaign spending$150 million3Who pays or receives it: Elon Musk
Who's involved
James TalaricoDemocrat, Senate-elect
Ted CruzU.S. Senator, Republican
Ken PaxtonRepublican candidate
John CornynOutgoing U.S. Senator
Elon MuskCampaign funder
The facts
James Talarico, Democrat, won the Texas U.S. Senate election.3
Ted Cruz is now the only statewide elected Republican in Texas.3
Ted Cruz called the midterm results a Watergate-level repudiation for the GOP.3
John Cornyn congratulated James Talarico on his election to the U.S. Senate.3
Elon Musk poured $150 million into boosting Republican Ken Paxton in the race.3
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
James Talarico This was about Texans across the political spectrum demanding change.3
James Talarico He wants to get big money out of politics and limit ultra-wealthy influence.3
Ted Cruz Tariffs have made everything too expensive, and the Iran war has dragged on too long.3
Ted Cruz We will rebuild as a true blue-collar party and Texas will be red again.3
Ken Paxton He will be praying for Talarico to do good for Texas and this nation.3
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
Ted Cruz faces new political future after GOP midterm losses
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