Texas did it.
On November 3rd 2026, Texans elected Democrat Gina Hinojosa as governor and Democrat James Talarico to the U.S. Senate. Hinojosa will be the first Democrat in the governor’s office since Ann Richards and the first Latina to hold the job. Talarico will be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988. Associated Press, Associated Press
Blexas is real, baby.
People have been talking about Texas turning blue for years.
Every election, somebody would point to the state’s growing cities or changing population.
Every election, somebody else would say it was wishful thinking.
This time though, voters flipped both the governor’s office and a Senate seat.
And while we’re still waiting for final vote totals and a fuller picture of the electorate, the concerns people have been raising aren’t new: the cost of living, health care, public schools, and whether their elected officials are listening.
How we got here
The road to Blexas wasn’t a steady march in one direction.
Donald Trump won Texas by about 9 percentage points in 2016. His margin narrowed to roughly 5.6 points in 2020, then grew again in 2024. Texas Secretary of State, Associated Press
So no, we can’t look back and say a Democratic win was bound to happen. Texans made different choices in different elections. Candidates, turnout, and the issues on people’s minds all matter.
What we, the people, can say is that voters just ended two very long losing streaks for Democrats. Anyone treating a Republican statewide win as a sure thing needs to look at Texas again.
People are tired of being squeezed
You can tell someone “the economy is strong” all day long. In fact, they do…. That conversation hits differently when they are the same one now standing in the grocery store, putting things back because the total is already too high.
Texas has a huge economy, HUuuge,
but that doesn’t mean every Texan is sharing in that prosperity.
Rent, groceries, insurance, and other bills still have to be paid,
and plenty of families have been trying to make their money stretch further.
The AP Voter Poll found that about 2 in 10 Texas voters said inflation had caused severe hardship for their families. About three-quarters of those voters supported Talarico in the Senate race. Associated Press
That poll clearly demonstrates that many Texans were feeling serious financial pressure, and those same voters backed the Democratic candidate by a wide margin.
Health care and schools are kitchen-table issues, too
In 2024, 21.6% of working-age adults in Texas were uninsured, the highest rate among states for that age group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s more than one in five Texans ages 19 to 64 without health insurance when surveyed. U.S. Census Bureau
Simply put, behind that number are people trying to figure out how to afford a doctor’s visit, a prescription, or an unexpected medical bill.
Public schools matter to families, too. Parents want their kids to have a good education, and teachers need the resources to do their jobs. Hinojosa campaigned on public education and talked about fighting for public schools in her victory speech. Associated Press
These are the things people have to navigate every day. They deserve more attention than a campaign slogan.
Texans want leaders who listen!
People notice when they keep raising the same concerns and nothing seems to change. They notice when their bills go up and the response they get feels disconnected from what they’re living.
The AP Voter Poll surveyed more than 5,000 Texas Senate voters and found that Talarico won most young voters and Hispanic voters in the race. Associated Press
Those are broad groups made up of people with different priorities. Their votes shouldn’t be taken for granted or treated like a permanent promise to either party. The people elected this week have a responsibility to listen to them, along with the Texans who voted for somebody else.
What happens now?
I’m celebrating this one. I’m also going to be watching what comes next, eyes peeled.
Hinojosa and Talarico will have a chance to act on the concerns they campaigned on. Texans should be able to ask what they’re doing about affordability, schools, health care, and the other issues that brought people to the polls.
One election doesn’t settle every argument in Texas, and it doesn’t guarantee how the state will vote in 2028. But it did show that Texas voters are willing to make a change.
For now, I’m going to enjoy saying it:
Blexas is real, baby.
