James Talarico, the charismatic Texas state representative who campaigned by talking extensively about his Christian faith, has defeated state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was Donald Trump’s hand-picked choice, in Tuesday’s most high-profile U.S. Senate race. Late on Tuesday evening, Talarico led by more than a million votes, and the Associated Press called the race just before 11 p.m. Eastern time.
This marks the first time a Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and another such result, perhaps even more surprising, followed almost immediately. Democrat Gina Hinojosa has won the Texas governor’s race, according to the AP, beating Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott by more than 700,000 votes.
