AP Photo/Eric Gay
Senator-elect James Talarico’s (D-TX) victory over Ken Paxton was so resounding that his early votes surpassed Paxton’s total votes.
Talarico’s win was one of many stunning upsets in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The night was historically bad for the the Republican Party, which lost control of both the House and Senate. Making matters worse for the GOP was the fact that Democrats secured significant majorities in both chambers, effectively protecting them against dissenters who may vote with Republicans in certain matters. With the Democrats in control of the Congress, they’re expected to stonewall President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Texas had some of the biggest surprises of the night, with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa also shocking the nation when she defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott.
Talarico ended up winning his election by 12 points. When taking a closer look at the numbers, it was somehow even more dominant than that figure suggested.
According to data from the office of the Texas Secretary of State, Talarico finished with 5.44 million votes to Paxton’s 4.25 million. Of that 5.44 million, approximately 4.4 million came from early voting. Before polls even opened on Tuesday morning, Talarico’s lead was already insurmountable.
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In the months leading up to the election, Republicans — as well as conservative media — launched a barrage of attacks on Talarico over a supposed lack of masculinity. Critics called his sexuality into question and falsely accused him of being vegan. Despite those attacks, Talarico had a surprising amount of support from Republicans in the state. According to Gabby Birenbaum of the Texas Tribune, Talarico won 13 districts in which House Republicans also won.
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