What happened: November 4th, 2026 Texas has elected a statewide slate of democrats for the first time in thirty years.  In January James Talarico will be the first democrat US Senator sent to Washington from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988 and Gina Hinojosa will be the first democrat governor of Texas sworn into office since Ann Richards in 1990.

 

Why it matters: Democrats will now control almost every State political power position in Texas.  Policies and governance are likely to change for everyday Midlanders, who voted statewide about 70% for republican candidates.  Senate elect Talarico was quote election night saying “We just took back Texas”.  It remains for Midlanders to learn what taking back Texas means.

Governor elect Hinojosa set out a bipartisan tone in her victory speech “Let me be clear: we did not end one era of single-party rule just to usher in another.”  and focused on eliminating school choice.  “It is a victory for teachers who will be paid what they are worth — and in case you have not heard, on day one, I will fire Mike Morath, and we will work tirelessly to repair the damage of the Texas vouchers scam and end an era in which our schools are sold for parts.”

Midland’s top stories. One quick email. Free, every Tuesday.
Get Midland Wrapped, our free weekly email for busy Midland residents. Each Tuesday, we break down the week’s most important local stories — what happened, why it matters, and what to watch next — so you can stay informed without the noise.

 

The big picture: It has been over 30 years since Texas elected a democrat, and they have not only elected democrats at most state levels.  Texans will also send democrats Vikki Goodwin to head the Texas Senate as the Lieutenant Governor, Nathan Johnson will be the new Attorney General, Sarah Eckhardt as Comptroller, Benjamin Flores as Commissioner of the General Land Office, Clayton Tucker as Ag Commissioner, and Jon Rosenthal to the Railroad Commission.

Texas also replaced Justice of the Supreme Court Jimmy Blacklock with democrat Maggie Ellis and also democrats Chari Kelly, Kristen Hawkins, and Gisela Triana to the Texas Supreme Court meaning the court make up will be 5 republicans and 4 democrats.

 

Zoom out:  As of this morning Texas shows a total of 9,850,000 votes cast for the governor’s race, with Hinojosa garnering 52.8% of those.  On the US senate race Talarico has won 55.2% of about the same total votes.  The closest statewide race will likely be Ag Commissioner or Comptroller with democrats collecting around 51% of the votes.

 

Zoom in: Midlanders helped send House Rep August Pfluger back to Washington for another term with him winning about 60% of the reported 233,000 votes.  Midland county voted 32,072 for Pfluger and 74%.

West Texas re-elected Kevin Sparks as District 11 State Senator also casing 31,300 votes for him out of the 224,000 votes cast, winning about 73% of the vote.

Midland will also send Tom Craddick for District 82 back to Austin as our state rep as Midland county cast 31,300 of his 34,400 votes receive, winning election with about 73% of the vote.

 

What’s next: Votes will continue to be tallied today and by the end of the week Texas will know if it will also have a democrat majority State House as well as the other offices in Texas.  The elected officials today will be sworn into office January of 2027.