Talarico, Hinojosa usher in new era as Texas Democrats oust several top Republicans

James Talarico, Gina Hinojosa and Sarah Eckhardt celebrated their historic victories at an Austin Whataburger packed with their campaign staff and other close supporters.

Elon Musk, who pumped more than $200 million into Ken Paxton's ultimate defeat, posted on his social media platform X:
Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time 🤷‍♂️

Results for Texas House races are still coming in. But perhaps in one of the clearest signs of Democratic confidence, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston said she had filed to be speaker of the Capitol’s lower chamber. The announcement from her campaign featured statements from 10 Democratic peers in the state House. “Tonight, the people of Texas made history. For the first time in a generation, voters have entrusted Democrats with a majority in the Texas House, and with that victory comes an enormous responsibility to deliver for the people we serve,” Thompson said. “After more than five decades serving in this chamber, I am proud to announce my candidacy for Speaker of the Texas House.”

All together, more than $300 million was placed on the Texas Senate and Governor races through prediction market app Kalshi by the time the races were called by the Associated Press. Talarico's and Hinojosa's expected chances of victory on the app were at 73% and 37% respectively when polls opened this morning, but quickly skyrocketed after they closed.

Republican Nate Sheets has been quiet as the results roll in and Clayton Tucker maintains his lead in the Agriculture Commissioner race. No word on if he’s planning on conceding tonight.

As attention turns to the very real possibility that the Texas House could flip to blue, I’m reminded of Gina Hinojosa’s repeated statements in interviews about how she would govern if she won. At TribFest this year she said if she won, she’d still be dealing with a Republican-controlled Legislature that would constrain what she could accomplish. Even if the House does flip, she faces headwinds in the state Senate.
In her campaign speech tonight, she says she still plans to work across the aisle.
“We did not end one era of single party rule to usher in another,” she said.

Trump on the phone on Fox, asked about if he regrets elevating Ken Paxton: "I had no choice. Ken Paxton, he's a good guy. And I just wasn't a fan of Cornyn. I just wasn't a fan. I found him to be a disloyal guy. He was not a fan of mine, to be honest, when it wasn't fashionable, he wasn't there….when it was fashionable, he kissed my ass. I remember the other days. And I just felt I couldn't endorse him."

"We just took back Texas," James Talarico says in his victory speech. "We have just shown that a politics of division is no match for a politics of love."

To Gabby's point: When I asked what tonight's results mean for 2028 and the national map, Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said, "I've always said, if you're not paying attention to Texas, you've got your ass screwed on backwards."

Is it too early to start talking about the 2028 presidential race? One downstream effect of Gina Hinojosa's win: she would get to appoint Texas' U.S. Senator if a Texan was elected president or vice president. Ted Cruz has been teasing a potential presidential bid, but Hinojosa's victory could change the calculus.

I'm at the Capitol right now where honks and cheers have been unending. The growing crowd rushed here once Hinojosa and Talarico declared victory, some are in their pajamas. People are driving by to catch a glimpse of the pink dome, which in just the last hour, has a whole new definition for Texans. People are dancing and jumping, music is blaring, bubbles are floating around.

“It may be dark outside but the sun is rising on the great state of Texas,” state Rep. John Bucy, James Talarico’s longtime deskmate in the Texas House, says as he takes the stage at Talarico HQ. “Tonight, everything changes.”