Republicans have dominated Texas for decades, keeping an iron grip on power in Austin and turning their state into a laboratory for conservative politics. It’s not just that James Talarico won the Senate seat, beating the Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, by double digits. It’s not just that Gina Hinojosa won the governor’s race, ousting the Republican incumbent, Greg Abbott.
Democrats won _every_ statewide office, including judges. Republicans, who have held all nine seats on the State Supreme Court, will now have just five of those seats, and the court will be led by a Democrat who will also be the first female chief justice. Democrats will also control the Texas House of Representatives for the first time since 2002.
I’m not an expert on Texas (although I earnestly believe Houston is the nation’s best food city). David Goodman, The Times’ Texas bureau chief, is. Tonight, he joins us. **David, Texas might be the most stunning election result in a night that was full of surprises.
How did this happen?** That is a question we’re going to be delving into for the next weeks and months. But here’s what we know now. This was part of the national wave of discontent with the war in Iran and with prices.
Texas has always prided itself on being a place where life is more affordable. Republicans’ whole governing philosophy and their pitch to voters is this idea of a Texas miracle, an economic engine that you don’t want to mess with. Even when they went quite far on cultural issues that could upset middle-of-the-road voters, Republicans could promise that the state was a place where business would thrive, where you could work and make money, and you could have a good life.
So when affordability issues hit here, they hit differently. That particularly affected the Latino voters who had gone for President Trump in 2024. They swung back in the direction of Democrats along the border and even in rural areas.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
