On the early morning of November 4, 2026, CBS News projected that Democrat James Talarico had defeated Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race and that Democrat Gina Hinojosa had unseated Governor Greg Abbott, a three-term Republican incumbent. If these calls hold, they would mark a rare turning in a state where power has long run one way, with a Democratic Senate victory not seen since 1988. Yet a projection is the network's reading of the count, not the final word, and the record has not yet been settled by certification.
Talarico Unseats Paxton in Texas Senate Race; Hinojosa Defeats Abbott for Governor, CBS Projects
The first Democratic Senate win in Texas since 1988
Mark
Two big calls at once. Why does this one matter so much?
Mimi
Texas hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1988. CBS projects Talarico beat Ken Paxton, which would end that streak.
Mark
And the governor's race?
Mimi
CBS projects Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott, a three-term Republican incumbent. That's an incumbent losing, not just an open seat flipping.
Luke
Let me slow this down. These are projections, not certified results. CBS is making a call based on its own analysis.
Mark
So what do we actually know?
Mimi
That CBS made both calls and published them on November 4, 2026. That's what the reporting supports.
Luke
What we don't know is the margin. No vote totals, no turnout, no word from the candidates. Anything about why this happened would be guesswork.
Mark
What should a reader watch for next?
Mimi
Official counts and certification, plus how Paxton and Abbott respond.
Luke
And whether the projections hold. Until then, it's a strong call, not a final answer.
Il Polso
- A long-settled Texas political order appears to be cracking open in a single election night.
- CBS News has called both statewide races, sending a jolt through a state accustomed to Republican dominance.
- Talarico's projected win over Paxton would end a Democratic Senate drought dating back to 1988.
- Hinojosa's projected defeat of Abbott would unseat a sitting governor after three terms, a change still awaiting official confirmation.
On the early morning of November 4, 2026, CBS News projected that Democrat James Talarico had defeated Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race and that Democrat Gina Hinojosa had unseated Governor Greg Abbott, a three-term Republican incumbent. If these calls hold, they would mark a rare turning in a state where power has long run one way, with a Democratic Senate victory not seen since 1988. Yet a projection is the network's reading of the count, not the final word, and the record has not yet been settled by certification.
Early on November 4, 2026, CBS News projected two results that, if they hold, would reshape Texas politics. Democrat James Talarico is projected to have defeated Ken Paxton in the Senate race, the first Democratic Senate win in the state since 1988. In the same count, Democrat Gina Hinojosa is projected to have beaten Governor Greg Abbott, who had served three terms.
The calls came together and reflect the network's assessment of the vote, not an official result. The early report offers no vote totals, margins, turnout figures, or candidate responses, so how either race was decided remains unknown.
The weight of the projections lies in their scale: a Democratic Senate seat after more than three decades, and a governor's chair changing hands. Official counts and certification still have to follow, and the coming days will show what a Talarico Senate seat and a Hinojosa governorship would mean for Texas policy.
CBS News has projected that James Talarico, a Democrat, defeated Ken Paxton in Texas' Senate race. If the projection holds, Talarico becomes the first Democrat to win a Senate contest in the state since 1988.
The same projection covers the governor's race. CBS News says Democrat Gina Hinojosa beat Greg Abbott, the three-term Republican incumbent. Abbott had held the office for three terms, which makes the projected result a defeat for a sitting governor as well as a change of party.
The two projections were published together early on November 4, 2026, as CBS News called both statewide contests. The call is the network's own assessment of the vote count. It is not an official result.
The source material is brief and offers little beyond the two calls. It gives no vote totals, no margins, no turnout figures, and no statements from the candidates or their campaigns. Nothing in it describes how either race was decided, which regions swung, or how the losing candidates responded.
What the projections do establish is the scale of the shift they describe. A Democratic Senate win in Texas would end a drought of more than three decades. A Democratic governor would replace an incumbent who has held the office for three terms. Both would be among the most consequential outcomes of the night, if they stand.
Projections of this kind are not final. Official counts and certification still have to follow, and the candidates' own responses have yet to be reported in this account. Watch for those steps, and for what a Talarico Senate seat and a Hinojosa governorship would mean for Texas policy.
Citazioni salienti
James Talarico defeats Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Texas since 1988.— CBS News projection
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Politics & Governance