In huge blow to Republicans, Democrat Talarico flips U.S. Senate seat in Texas

Democrat James Talarico on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) won the U.S. Senate race in Texas, flipping yet another seat for his party in a huge blow to Republicans, media projections showed.

Mr. Talarico defeated the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump, NBC News and CBS News projected.

U.S. midterm elections 2026 LIVE updates

Democrats notched a string of early victories in U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday (November 3, 2026), flipping a Republican-held Senate seat and making inroads in conservative House districts as President Donald Trump faced the prospect of a bruising election setback.

The Opposition party also retained key Senate seats, while victory in Georgia’s Governor race added to mounting signs that Republicans face a difficult night.

The vote was a nationwide judgment on Mr. Trump’s turbulent second term, with discontent over living costs, tariffs and the U.S. war against Iran — which has driven fuel prices sharply higher — weighing on the president and his party.

Democrat Roy Cooper, a popular former North Carolina governor, delivered one of the night’s most consequential results by defeating Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman handpicked by Mr. Trump.

North Carolina has voted for Mr. Trump three times, but M.r Cooper campaigned on a pledge to lower living costs and will replace retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who had clashed with the President.

In Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff, a rising Democratic figure seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, defeated his Republican challenger and preserved a seat the party needed to defend.