James Talarico defeated his MAGA opponent Ken Paxton in deep-red Texas based on early votes alone, new data shows.
More than 9 million Texans showed up to vote in the midterms, carrying Talarico to an easy victory over the scandal-plagued attorney general in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988. Over 7 million of those voters cast their ballots early, with data from the Texas secretary of state’s office showing that Talarico would’ve trumped Paxton even if he didn’t receive a single vote on election day.
Talarico received over 4.3 million votes in early voting, with Paxton squeaking out 4.2 million overall. The new blue senator would finish with 5.4 million total.
Trump visited Texas five times during his cross-country tour to support his handpicked candidates, including the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where he poked fun at Paxton’s looks and unpopularity among the base.
“The fact is that some may not like the way he dresses. I don’t. Although tonight he looked very spiffy in his blue suit, I must tell you,” Trump said at the time.
According to AdImpact, Paxton’s campaign spent nearly $300 million overall, funding which he mostly received from GOP-aligned PACs and Elon Musk.
Paxton was endorsed by Trump during a May runoff primary against then-incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. It appeared that Paxton’s loyalty to the president overshadowed Cornyn’s more reliable popularity in Texas, leading Trump to disparage Cornyn for his insufficient fealty to the MAGA movement.
“I had no choice. Ken Paxton was a good guy, and I just wasn’t a fan of Cornyn. I just wasn’t a fan. I found him to be a disloyal guy. He was not a fan of mine. To be honest, when it wasn’t fashionable, he wasn’t there. When it was fashionable, he kissed my a--,” Trump said during his Election Day interview with Fox News host Bret Baier.
However, advisers in Trump’s orbit recently revealed that the president openly regretted the decision to endorse Paxton, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Paxton’s term as attorney general now ends on Jan. 1—an office from which he was nearly impeached for allegations of using his office to aid a wealthy donor. Democrat Nathan Johnson will be the next attorney general, the first Democrat to hold the office since 1994.
