After Three Decades, A Blue Wave Sweeps Texas

This is an excerpt from the Progress Texas Daily Dispatch, delivered every weekday by Progress Texas Communications Director Chris Mosser. Rapid response on the breaking news stories Texas progressives need to know—all in less than 10 minutes!

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What a difference a day makes, y’all. This time yesterday, progressive people across Texas were experiencing a hesitation and reservation drilled into our heads by 30 years of being kicked around this place. There was definite confidence in certain races, across a range of optimism, but the genuinely massive blue wave that crashed across Texas and the entire United States last night, I dare say, was beyond just about anyone’s expectations and, for me personally, difficult to truly process just yet. It’s like stepping into blinding sunlight after three decades trapped in a dark cave. For a great many of you listening, this is a first in your lifetimes. It is a lot to take in and everybody’s exhausted—so for this morning, let’s take a little tour of last night’s developments.

Musk’s Millions Fail To Save Paxton

The least surprising bit from last night, of course: 37-year-old former public school teacher James Talarico’s landslide win over Ken Paxton, taking about 55% of the vote to Paxton’s 43%. That’s the epicenter of a political earthquake in Texas. Talarico becomes the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988—the year after I graduated from high school. That was Lloyd Bentsen, who left the Senate in 1993 to serve in President Bill Clinton’s cabinet. A victory all the more remarkable coming in spite of hundreds of millions of Republican dollars desperately spent to prevent it—perhaps fundamentally changing the way campaign spending is viewed moving forward, along with many other dynamic political paradigm shifts that many of us are only beginning to unpack.

Greg Abbott’s $100M+ Flop

Seemingly less likely from polling—thus, for me personally, even more satisfying and inspiring—five-term Austin State Representative and mom Gina Hinojosa’s win over three-term Republican Governor Greg Abbott by seven points, pulling in 53% of the vote to Abbott’s 46%. Hinojosa will be Texas’ first Latina governor, its first Democratic governor since Ann Richards left office in 1995—that’s two Democratic women in a row, we note.

This time last year, how many Texans had even heard of Gina Hinojosa, who also overcame a massive financial disadvantage against Abbott, whose initial $100 million war chest, considered by some a virtual guarantee of his grip on power, was also propped up late in the game by the likes of Elon Musk. Gina’s been my state rep for my neighborhood in Austin for a long time and the pride I’m feeling for her, her family and her team this morning is hard for me to put into words, but I’ll have more chances so let’s keep going.

Dan Patrick Finally Gets The Boot

The shock over Hinojosa’s win, I think, has delayed the equal shock over Austin State Rep. Vikki Goodwin’s toppling of longtime Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick by a similar margin. A good win indeed as she becomes the first Democrat elected lieutenant governor of Texas since Bob Bullock in 1994, snapping 28 years of Republican control in that office.

Vikki Goodwin, as lieutenant governor, will preside over the Texas Senate where, barring any technical malfeasance by the Republican majority in that body (which we’ll continue to discuss), will have control over its legislative agenda, appoint committee chairs and exert enormous influence over which legislation advances through the Senate at all. The satisfaction of kicking Dan Patrick to the curb is so very… it’s so very.

Looks likely from here that the bizarre situation regarding THC products in Texas is likely to clear itself up pretty damn quick next year. Rep. Goodwin, we’re huge fans and have watched well over a year of hard work you’ve put in, huge congratulations.

At AG, Texas Is Finally Rid Of Ken Paxton

Dallas State Senator Nathan Johnson defeats Galveston Republican State Senator Mayes Middleton in the Texas attorney general race by about that same margin. Johnson is the first Democrat elected Texas attorney general since Dan Morales was last reelected in 1994, and his win serves as icing on the Talarico cake as it marks the departure from the AG’s office of the ultra-toxic Ken Paxton, whose tenure was defined by the unfettered abuse of his office and deplorable personal shortcomings, an almost decade-long inquiry over securities fraud charges, and impeachment by his own fellow Republicans in the Texas House in a case involving both professional corruption and personal infidelity. Ken Paxton becomes a remarkably shameful historical footnote for Texas while Nathan Johnson has an opportunity to return the Texas AG’s office to its traditional responsibilities as our state’s top law enforcement agency.

Huffines To Pack Out To The Ranch

Former Travis County judge, county commissioner and Austin State Senator Sarah Eckhardt—similar to Gina back there, she’s been my state senator for a long time so the pride is massive here—Eckhardt beats Republican Don Huffines by a similar 6-ish points, 52.4% to Huffines’ 46%, and becomes the first Democrat to serve as Texas comptroller since 1999. Huffines, as you know, was handed the job mid-election back in August by Greg Abbott, which is highly entertaining and we hope he didn’t spend too terribly much on decorating, though we do know he had grand plans to double the $1 billion private school voucher scam to $2 billion.

Eckhardt brings extensive government management and financial oversight experience to the state’s chief financial office and says she plans to restore the comptroller’s watchdog role, investigating waste and financial mismanagement, scrutinizing state contracts, and deeply auditing that private-school voucher program. Let’s be clear here: as of January, a Democrat will be in charge of overseeing state finances, revenue projections, tax collections and billions in government spending, much of which has been arranged in smoky back rooms over the last three decades by Republican lawmakers, lobbyists and corporate donors who, up until last night, thought they answered to nobody.

And Don Huffines, at least, has a real nice ranch in New Mexico where he can go think things over.

Petroleum Engineer Beats Internet Troll

Democrat and Houston state rep, 25-year petroleum engineer, and extraordinarily nice guy Jon Rosenthal whips the loathsome racist Bo French by seven points, 53% to 46%, and becomes the first Democrat elected to the Texas Railroad Commission since Bob Krueger in 1990. Rosenthal becomes the lone Democrat on a three-member panel that oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry, including drilling permits, pipeline safety, natural gas utilities and environmental enforcement. Jon will be a minority vote, but has pledged to be a vocal and aggressive voice for the proper regulation of one of the most economically and politically influential industries in Texas.

Bo French, meanwhile, becomes a footnote to Ken Paxton’s footnote.

Goat Farmer Goes Yard!

Did we mention nice guys? Democrat and Lampasas goat farmer Clayton Tucker has defeated Republican Nate Sheets by a just slightly more narrow five points to become Texas Agriculture Commissioner, perhaps the most quintessentially Texan of all these statewide offices, responsible for farming development, food safety programs, school nutrition oversight and rural economic initiatives. Clayton replaces the controversial Western wear enthusiast Sid Miller, whom you’ll recall was kicked out of the job by even more wild-eyed Republican primary voters and ended up a reluctant ally of Clayton’s, especially in regard to data centers. An especially sweet moment here as Clayton Tucker becomes the first Democratic Texas Ag Commissioner since the 8-year term of his mentor and statewide progressive spirit animal Jim Hightower.

So Much For Trump’s Wall?

And Democrat Benjamin Flores defeats Republican incumbent Dawn Buckingham, also a notable Western wear enthusiast, also by five points. Flores takes over the General Land Office, which manages millions of acres of public land, oversees the Permanent School Fund, and more. In particular, Buckingham’s term has seen considerable cooperation and capitulation to Donald Trump in his efforts to ram a border wall through sensitive and private land in Texas—that’s a huge win as well.

The GOP Court Monopoly Fractures

I’m running out of time here y’all and we haven’t gotten around to congressional and state legislative wins, county-level wins, of which there are many with lots to discuss and we’ll get to it of course, but I want to mention the courts before we wrap up this morning. The courts, as always, won’t get the glory, but they represent a tremendously impactful part of a Democratic statewide sweep in Texas. Let me say that one more time: a Democratic statewide sweep in Texas.

We are witnessing a historic change in Texas’ judiciary, as Democrats won all ten contested statewide judicial seats last night: Maggie Ellis, Chari Kelly, Kristen Hawkins and Gisela Triana for the Texas Supreme Court, Okey Anyiam (OKAY ANyam), Audra Riley and straight-up rock star Holly Taylor for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Those courts retain Republican majorities, mind you, but they no longer have an impregnable conservative free pass.

And get this: all three seats on Greg Abbott’s brand-new Fifteenth Court of Appeals—created specifically to handle cases involving high-level state business—have been won by Democrats: Jerry Zimmerer, Tom Baker and Marc M. Meyer.

Progressive people in Texas have been vexed for years by court decisions made with heavy conservative bias, on everything from reproductive rights to LGBTQ+ rights to the death penalty. The right-wing weaponization of the courts in Texas just took a major blow. Okey Anyiam, by the way, becomes the first African immigrant and Nigerian American to be elected to either of Texas’ high courts.

Giddy Up Y’all - We Won!

Even after saying all of that, I still feel at a loss for words. The degree of elation, relief, gratitude and renewed determination I’m experiencing this morning is frankly a little overwhelming. Progressives in Texas can be excused for needing a minute to get used to this “winning” stuff.

Here at Progress Texas, our small staff is so very proud to be part of this historic success, and you should know that this hard, exhausting and sometimes heartbreaking work, all done on a shoestring budget and with the steadfast support of our board and our donors, for all of us, is the calling of our lives. Our individual supporters are the ones who made this happen, so to all of you, thank you so much. Our plans moving forward for the 2027 Texas Legislature are going to require a bit of retooling as an entire range of new options for actual, tangible, constructive and positive change now lie before us—and to put it very mildly, the options that now lie ahead for our nation are considerably more extensive and potentially game-changing for our state, our nation and our world.

So much to unpack, so much to accomplish—giddy up y’all, we won!

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