'We didn't expect this': Texas Democrats stunned as blue wave topples GOP stronghold

AUSTIN, Texas — As the Democrats’ blue wave began to slam into Texas, Richard Torres, a Texan who has voted blue his entire life, kept peering at the results pouring in on reporters’ screens all around him.

And when it was announced Texas state Rep. James Talarico had toppled Ken Paxton, he sat down to take it in. Torres was the former chair of the Williamson County Democratic Party, where Talarico grew up and attended high school in Round Rock, Texas.

He never thought that Texas Republicans would be swept away by the oncoming blue wave.

Voters at Sen.-elect James Talarico's election night watch party were surprised at Texas' massive shift but believed that only one Republican could be blamed for the state becoming blue: President Donald Trump. (Alex Miller/Fox News Digital)

"We started seeing some changes, but not what we expected tonight," Torres told Fox News Digital. "We didn't expect this tonight."

When asked why a deep-red stronghold like the Lone Star State had become so rapidly blue, Torres said that it started at the top with President Donald Trump and should serve as a message to GOP candidates and officials across the state.

"I think it sends a message that they're on the wrong track, and they've been for a while, but they won't accept the problems we have with the president," Torres said. "They're totally supporting him. I don't know why."

"But they don't see the problems that we're having in this country with all the things that have happened with the war going on and things of this type," he continued. "And they just seem to support him on it. This is a referendum against Trump."

Talarico and several other Democratic candidates, including Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa, shattered the GOP’s grip on Texas, serving Republicans in Congress a stiff blow as their majorities in both chambers rapidly evaporated Tuesday night.

And the incoming lawmaker didn’t just squeak by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He beat the Trump-backed candidate, who was not the first choice of Republicans in Washington, by over 12 percentage points, or well over 1 million votes, in a state that Trump won in 2024 by nearly 14 points.

To secure that win, Talarico needed to capture Republicans and Democrats in Texas. One of those Republicans, James, told Fox News Digital that he had always voted for the GOP until this election.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Ocean Center Arena on Oct. 30, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"I've been a Republican my whole life, but I'm voting Democratic this year because I think we need to," James said. "The Republicans have lost their way, I believe."

While the optimism at the watch party was palpable, be it through the pumping music or over half a dozen mobile bars with lines dozens of people deep, there was still a cautious anxiety among some voters.

Particularly after Democrats had gotten so close to flipping the Senate seat before in 2018, when former Texas state Rep. Beto O’Rourke gave Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a run for his money. O’Rourke would end up losing by roughly two points, but the exuberance that turned to heartbreak wasn’t soon forgotten by the Lone Star State’s Democratic voters.

As results began to roll in and the crowd’s energy began to explode, Beverly, another longtime Texas resident and voter, said Tuesday night was bigger than Texas.

"This feels like a now or never moment in the entire United States," she said. "We either turn things around or we might as well kiss it all goodbye."