Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas U.S. Senate race, the Associated Press reported late Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The AP called the race at approximately 10:04 p.m., with Talarico leading with 59.4% of the vote, Houston Public Media reported. He is the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas since 1994 and the first Democrat elected to a Texas U.S. Senate seat since 1988, according to KCRA, citing AP.

Results remain unofficial until certified by the Texas Secretary of State.

Collin County swings hard

The outcome landed close to home. Partial election-night returns showed Collin County shifting from R+11.1 in the 2024 presidential race to D+13.3 in the Senate contest, with 78% of the expected vote counted at that snapshot, according to CryptoTicker, citing NBC and AP data. Those figures compare a partial count with a full presidential count and could still change.

Paxton once represented Collin County in the Texas House and state Senate before becoming attorney general, WFAA reported. Talarico built his early lead with strong showings in the North Texas suburbs, the Texas Tribune reported.

On the eve of the election, Paxton rallied supporters in Allen, telling them, "If Texas falls, we don't have another Texas to move to," the Dallas Morning News reported.

What's at stake

The race could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term. Republicans held a 53-47 advantage going into the election. Democrats needed a net gain of four seats for a majority, according to Fox 4.

More than $570 million in political advertising made this the most expensive Senate race in American history, according to the Dallas Morning News, citing ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Record turnout statewide

More than 7.7 million Texans voted early, in person or by mail, through the state's 12-day early voting period, the Texas Tribune reported. That amounted to 40.5% of registered voters, the highest midterm early-turnout rate on record in modern-day Texas.

Texas entered the election with more than 19 million registered voters, a new state record, according to the Texas Secretary of State.

The candidates

Paxton, the three-term state attorney general, defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a May 2026 Republican primary runoff after receiving an endorsement from Trump. He has served as attorney general since 2015. The Republican-led Texas House impeached Paxton in 2023 over allegations including bribery and misuse of office, but the Texas Senate acquitted him on all 16 articles, Houston Public Media reported.

Talarico, a four-term state representative from the Austin suburbs, is a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian. He led Paxton by a wide margin in fundraising for most of the year, though conservative super PACs offset that advantage with heavy spending in the campaign's final months, Houston Public Media reported.

Libertarian Ted Brown and several write-in candidates also appeared on the ballot.

Official results from the Texas Secretary of State will continue to be updated as counties report. The new Senate term begins in January 2027.