Democrats End 24 Years of Republican Rule in Texas

A political earthquake has struck Texas, where Republicans lost full control of the state for the first time in 24 years, with Democrats winning the governorship and a Senate seat in Tuesday's election. Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton by nearly 10 percentage points, while Democrat Gina Hinojosa beat incumbent Governor Greg Abbott. The losses came despite Elon Musk donating $212 million to Paxton's campaign and Republicans outspending Democrats two-to-one on advertising. The upset is attributed to widespread dissatisfaction with Donald Trump, including his Iran war, tariffs, and immigration policies, which drove Latino voters and conservatives to the Democrats. Trump's removal of popular Senator John Cornyn in favor of Paxton also hurt the party.