Watch KSAT’s live election results stream with Myra Arthur and Ernie Zuniga here. Election results will begin populating at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Find more election coverage on the Vote 2026 page.
UPDATE at 12:05 a.m.: James Talarico took the podium at 11:25 p.m. Tuesday, speaking to a crowd of supporters in Austin after declaring victory over Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race.
“We just took back Texas,” Talarico said. “We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas. We just showed that a politics of division is no match for a politics of love.”
He referenced his work as a teacher at Rhodes Middle School on San Antonio’s West Side, saying it prepared him for a life in politics.
“Every day my students struggled heroically to overcome a rigged system,” he said. “My students weren’t just kids, they were survivors, dreamers, fighters — I saw it in their eyes every day.”
His election marks a historic win, making him the first Texas Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in nearly four decades.
“Always bet on the underdog,” he said.
Watch his full victory speech below:
UPDATE AT 10:10 P.M.: James Talarico is the first Democrat from Texas elected to the U.S. Senate since 1988. The Associated Press called the race just after 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton by 20 percentage points with 66% of precincts reporting.
Refresh this page for live updates on the embedded results. KSAT will update the text of this article as more votes are counted.
UPDATE AT 8:30 P.M.: With just over half the precincts reporting, Democrat James Talarico is leading Republican Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race by 20 percentage points.
UPDATE AT 7:55 P.M.: After some statewide early voting results were released Tuesday night, Democrat James Talarico is leading Republican Ken Paxton by 18 percentage points in the race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.
Election Day votes are yet to be counted and will determine the outcome of the race in the coming hours.
Read below for background.
BACKGROUND
Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Rep. James Talarico are facing off in a contentious race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.
Paxton, a Republican who has served as Texas’ attorney general since 2015, has received the support of President Donald Trump.
Paxton’s campaign website promises to help Trump finish the border wall, cut taxes, support crypto, take on big pharma, “increasing transparency in our food and healthcare systems,” and defeat Talarico, who Paxton refers to as “the most radical democrat in Texas history.”
>> Talarico, Paxton trade blows while crisscrossing Texas in final days of campaign for US Senate seat
In 2015, Paxton was indicted on felony securities fraud charges stemming from accusations that, in 2011, he tried to solicit investors in a McKinney technology company without disclosing that it was paying him to promote its stock. He pleaded not guilty but later agreed to community service and paying restitution. Federal Prosecutors then dropped the securities fraud case.
Paxton also faced an impeachment trial in 2023 that was unrelated to the securities fraud indictment. The Texas Senate acquitted him in that trial.
>> Attorney General Ken Paxton, Rep. James Talarico face off in contentious U.S. Senate race
Talarico, an Austin-area state representative, is campaigning to be the first Democrat from Texas elected to the U.S. Senate since 1988.
He has promised to work to reduce the cost of living for Americans and has not been shy about his push to have billionaires and large corporations pay more taxes.
Talarico, who taught at a middle school on San Antonio’s West Side earlier in his career, also wants to expand access to universal pre-kindergarten programs and establish a public health-insurance option.
The winner will replace Sen. John Cornyn, who Paxton defeated in the primary.
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