How Texas Turned Against Ken Paxton: County Results Explained
Democrat James Talarico turned Texas blue by building a coalition the included urban voters, Hispanic voters and young voters.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, winning 55.1 percent of the votes to Paxton's 43 percent. This marked the first time a Democrat was elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988 and the first statewide victory by the Democratic Party since 1994. Talarico's success was attributed to his strong support in major cities, improvements in previously Republican suburbs, and a resurgence in South Texas.
The county-level results demonstrate how Talarico created a winning coalition. He gained heavily in suburban counties like Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, and Williamson, which experienced significant population growth. He also won Fort Bend County outside Houston by 28.6 points and Brazoria County, south of Houston, by 5.4 points. Additionally, Talarico won Williamson County north of Austin by 20.3 points and Kaufman County, an outer-ring Dallas suburb, by 2 points.
His victory in Harris County, with 1,382,875 ballots, and Dallas County, with 783,308 votes, created a significant Democratic vote bank for Paxton to overcome. Talarico's strong showing in South Texas, where he won Hidalgo County by 46.5 points and Webb County by 47.3 points, further contributed to his overall win.
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