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James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in Texas, becoming the first Democratic candidate to win a U.S. Senate seat from the state since 1988.
Paxton, the state's attorney general, has received support from President Donald Trump despite a series of controversies involving his campaign. In 2024, Texas gave Trump a victory by almost 14 percentage points.
Talarico, a former teacher who was relatively little known in state politics until last year, made the rising cost of living under Republican administrations one of the main themes of his campaign.
Paxton tried to portray Talarico's positions as too progressive for Texas and attended several campaign events alongside Trump.
Paxton has been the target of a series of political scandals, including an impeachment process opened by his own party in 2023, on corruption charges. He was later acquitted by the state Senate.
Talarico frequently criticized Paxton's biggest donor, billionaire Elon Musk, who allocated US$158 million (R$867 million) to a super PAC (political action committee) that supported the Republican's campaign.
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