// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
James Talarico becomes first Democrat to win Texas Senate seat since 1988
Democrat James Talarico has won a key Senate race in Texas, in what is likely the single biggest upset for Republicans in this year's elections.
Talarico's stunning victory over Republican Ken Paxton marks the first time a Democrat has won a US Senate seat in Texas since 1988 - and has helped solidify Democrats taking full control of the US Congress in a tidal wave of wins across America.
Talarico, a former schoolteacher, was a little-known figure until last year. He made the rising cost of living under Republican leadership a central theme of his run.
Paxton sought to portray Talarico's views as too progressive for the state, and campaigned alongside Trump on several occasions.
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Supporters of Talarico went berserk as TVs at a watch party in Austin, the state's capitol, projected him the winner.
They hugged, they kissed, and they drank to a reality that many say they dared not believe would come true.
Emerging on stage to rapturous applause at his official watch party at a nearby performing arts theatre, Talarico pronounced: "We just took back Texas."