President Donald Trump and the Republican Party suffered a stunning loss on Tuesday as the Democrats won a US Senate seat and the governorship of Texas, breaking a Republican stranglehold on power in the state that has lasted more than three decades.
Texas had not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, or to the US Senate since 1988. However, 37-year-old former schoolteacher James Talarico defeated his scandal-ridden Republican opponent Ken Paxton to win election to the Senate, while Gina Hinojosa pulled off a major upset to unseat three-term Governor Greg Abbott. President Trump’s approval rating has averaged around 37%, with some polls putting it as low as 33%, among the lowest for any President in modern history facing a midterm election. He was impeached by the Republican-led Texas House in 2023 on corruption charges, though the state Senate acquitted him, and a federal corruption investigation into him closed without charges. That’s how close these numbers are,” warned Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who saw off a spirited challenge from Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018.
The defeat represents a decisive rejection of President Trump and the Republican Party by voters in one of America’s most reliably conservative states. Political analysts pointed to a mix of national and state-level factors behind the shift, including voter dissatisfaction over rising energy costs, a broad cost-of-living crisis, and foreign policy concerns regarding the war in Iran. Paxton also brought substantial political baggage to the race. Both nonetheless kept questions about his legal and ethical record alive during the campaign. Gina Hinojosa also delivered a major upset by defeating Governor Greg Abbott, who sought a record fourth term While much national attention focused on Talarico. “Understand, we could lose Texas. Let me repeat that. We could lose Texas. We could lose every single statewide race in Texas.
Allegations of infidelity also dogged Paxton’s campaign as his wife filed for divorce on “biblical grounds”.
