Democrats win House and Senate control, with James Talarico taking the Texas seat

Democrats gain ground nationally

Democrats have flipped the House of Representatives, as polls had anticipated, according to US media cited by La Razón, and Telegraph reports the party helped win control of the Senate. Counting was still under way in key states when the reports were published. La Razón links the Republican setback to foreign policy, rising living costs and the Trump administration's immigration policy. Donald Trump responded on Truth Social, writing that he would have swept the vote had he been on the ballot, and later acknowledged the Democratic win in several interviews. He told FOX News he was somewhat surprised that Republicans had not done better.

Texas Senate seat flips

James Talarico, a 37-year-old Democrat, beat Republican attorney general Ken Paxton, who had the backing of Trump, according to La Razón. The result makes Talarico the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988, a gap that the Telegraph headline puts at 38 years. Talarico compared his campaign to David and Goliath in a speech in Austin, and EL MUNDO reports he said his side faced more than 300 million dollars in spending linked to Elon Musk, who funded groups backing Paxton. AdImpact counted more than 573.2 million dollars spent on ads, which it describes as the most expensive race on record for a US Senate seat outside presidential elections. In his speech, Talarico celebrated the result in a few words:

“Tonight we defeated Goliath”

Hinojosa and the governor's race

Gina Hinojosa, a state representative, defeated Governor Greg Abbott, and according to LaSexta she became the first Democrat elected Texas governor since 1990 and the first Latina to hold the office in the state. Born in McAllen in 1973 and raised in Brownsville, she studied law at the University of Texas and first won public office in 2011 with a seat on the Austin school board. She has sat in the Texas House since 2017, according to ABC, and her campaign focused on public schools, affordability and opposition to data centers. Abbott's campaign was funded with 281 million dollars, against 36.8 million dollars for Hinojosa. ABC also credits Hispanic voters, a large share of the state electorate, with backing her.

Greg Abbott campaign281

Gina Hinojosa campaign36.8

Greg Abbott campaign

281 US$ million

Gina Hinojosa campaign

36.8 US$ million

Data from the article text

Other firsts across the map

Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim, won a Michigan Senate seat, and LaSexta reports him saying that neither his name nor his religion is to blame for people struggling to pay for gasoline. LaSexta says Xavier Becerra is set to become the first Hispanic governor of California since 1875. David Crowley was elected in Wisconsin, and LaSexta reports that several Black governors have been elected in Wisconsin, Georgia and Florida for the first time. Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become the first Black speaker of the House, and LaSexta describes Chris Pappas as the first gay man to serve in the Senate.