Texas Democrats Win Four Key Seats

Four Democratic candidates won statewide offices in Texas on Tuesday, ending a 32-year streak of Republican victories in the state.

James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate. Gina Hinojosa won the governor's race against Greg Abbott. Vikki Goodwin defeated Dan Patrick for lieutenant governor, and Nathan Johnson beat Mayes Middleton for attorney general. No Democrat had won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.

The results extended to four other states that President Donald Trump won easily in 2024. Kansas elected Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor, to the Senate, marking the first time a Democrat from the state has held that seat since 1932. Hamilton defeated Republican Senator Roger Marshall.

South Carolina voters rejected Republican Senator Darline Graham. Pediatrician Annie Andrews won the seat, becoming the first Democrat to hold the position in the state since 1998. Iowa elected Rob Sand as governor and Josh Turek as senator. Ohio chose Amy Acton for governor and Sherrod Brown for senator.

Sherrod Brown is a former senator who lost his seat in 2024. He defeated Republican Senator Jon Husted in Tuesday's election. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick acknowledged the scale of the defeat in a statement. He described the outcome as a wave election in Texas and across the country.

Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called the results a generational remake of the Senate map. Republicans lost seats they had not expected to be in play at the start of the election year.