OK, Texans. There's a lot to unpack after this Election Day. And some key House, court and state education board races left to be called. We'll be here to unpack the results and what's next in Texas politics and policy. For now, we at the Tribune are going to call it a … night? morning? Well, you get the picture. Thanks so much for following along!

The future of the Texas State Board of Education remains undecided as of Wednesday morning, though early results show Democrats posing a serious threat to Republicans’ supermajority.

Democratic incumbent Tiffany Clark defeated Republican Carlos “Charlie” Garza to represent large portions of Dallas and Tarrant Counties — the only board race where the Associated Press declared a winner. Of the eight remaining races, Democrats and Republicans each lead four.

If those leads hold, Republicans’ 11–4 majority would shrink to 8–7, handing Democrats significant influence in key board decisions. That will soon include a rewrite of Texas’ math standards and the approval of social studies textbooks.

Questions also remain about how Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who won Texas’ gubernatorial race, would approach the board. The governor appoints its chair, a post currently held by Republican Aaron Kinsey.

Gov. Greg Abbott reappointed Kinsey earlier this year.

Democrats were leading in all of the contests for Texas’ highest courts as part of the blue tsunami, potentially shattering the GOP’s total dominance over statewide judicial offices.

The Associated Press has not declared a winner in any of these races, but around 90% of the estimated votes have been counted as of early Wednesday.

If the leads hold, this would mean a stunning end to several GOP incumbents’ tenure and an upset defeat for Republicans who had outraised their rivals. But the GOP would still have a 5-4 advantage on the Supreme Court and a 6-3 lead on the Court of Criminal Appeals, while Democrats would fully take over the three spots on the 15th Court of Appeals.

In the race for land commissioner, Democrat Benjamin Flores declared victory online. The land commissioner oversees an agency that handles 13 million acres of state land. The General Land Office also administers federal money for disaster relief, supports veterans, helps contribute to public school funding and has administrative control over the Alamo.

In 2025, Tim O’Hare and Tarrant County Republicans redrew the commissioner’s court districts gunning for a 4-1 GOP majority. Tonight, Democrats won two of the districts, including flipping one Trump carried by 16.2 points, along with the county judge seat, giving Democrats a 4-1 majority. “We got the 4-1 court … just not in the direction they wanted,” said Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party.

State Rep. John Bucy came to the Whataburger to thank supporters. "I am blown away," said Bucy, D-Austin. "The people of Texas were demanding change they showed that at the ballot box and it wasn't just James (Talarico). It was everybody. It was a rebuke to their politics and now it's time for us to govern and deliver."

As Talarico and Hinojosa exited the Whataburger, the newly elected Democratic Comptroller, Sarah Eckhardt, mused on Texas’ seismic political turn. “We went into this (the night) not knowing,” she said. “I thought Talarico would win but everybody else was a question. It was too tight to call.” Texas voters obviously wanted an entire realignment of its political leaders. “I mean, this goes beyond party, goes beyond a specific candidate.” You don’t see a win like this just with Democrat. Republicans voted for a change also.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has conceded in his race. "It was a fair election," he said. He joins Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and the others on the GOP ticket in accepting the results on a day where voting problems were limited and the margins were wide.

James Talarico, Gina Hinojosa and Sarah Eckhardt celebrated their historic victories at an Austin Whataburger packed with their campaign staff and other close supporters.

Elon Musk, who pumped more than $200 million into Ken Paxton's ultimate defeat, posted on his social media platform X:
Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time 🤷‍♂️

Results for Texas House races are still coming in. But perhaps in one of the clearest signs of Democratic confidence, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston said she had filed to be speaker of the Capitol’s lower chamber. The announcement from her campaign featured statements from 10 Democratic peers in the state House. “Tonight, the people of Texas made history. For the first time in a generation, voters have entrusted Democrats with a majority in the Texas House, and with that victory comes an enormous responsibility to deliver for the people we serve,” Thompson said. “After more than five decades serving in this chamber, I am proud to announce my candidacy for Speaker of the Texas House.”

With 85% of votes reporting, a clear trend emerged tonight: counties with the largest Hispanic populations swung the furthest to the left.

Starr County, which is 97% Hispanic, swung more than any of the state’s 254 counties. Sen. Ted Cruz won the county by about two points in the county in 2024.

All together, more than $300 million was placed on the Texas Senate and Governor races through prediction market app Kalshi by the time the races were called by the Associated Press. Talarico's and Hinojosa's expected chances of victory on the app were at 73% and 37% respectively when polls opened this morning, but quickly skyrocketed after they closed.

Republican Nate Sheets has been quiet as the results roll in and Clayton Tucker maintains his lead in the Agriculture Commissioner race. No word on if he’s planning on conceding tonight.

As attention turns to the very real possibility that the Texas House could flip to blue, I’m reminded of Gina Hinojosa’s repeated statements in interviews about how she would govern if she won. At TribFest this year she said if she won, she’d still be dealing with a Republican-controlled Legislature that would constrain what she could accomplish. Even if the House does flip, she faces headwinds in the state Senate.
In her campaign speech tonight, she says she still plans to work across the aisle.
“We did not end one era of single party rule to usher in another,” she said.

Trump on the phone on Fox, asked about if he regrets elevating Ken Paxton: "I had no choice. Ken Paxton, he's a good guy. And I just wasn't a fan of Cornyn. I just wasn't a fan. I found him to be a disloyal guy. He was not a fan of mine, to be honest, when it wasn't fashionable, he wasn't there….when it was fashionable, he kissed my ass. I remember the other days. And I just felt I couldn't endorse him."

One final request from me tonight: Will you support The Texas Tribune’s independent reporting on this election? You can chip in here.

Thank you to everyone who donated during our results coverage. Your support will help our journalists hold newly elected officials accountable.

In Austin, local college students plucked campaign signs from campus grounds and local lawns as they made their way over to the capitol, where they're now waving the oversized signage to cheers and music.

Outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is blaming Gov. Greg Abbott for Texas GOP’s losses tonight, saying Abbott brought the whole team down by not listening to Texans on data centers and other issues.

“Republicans quit listening to the people,” Miller said. “They were listening to the donors and big corporate interests and lobbyists. When you quit listening to the people, you deserve to lose and that’s what happened.”

"We just took back Texas," James Talarico says in his victory speech. "We have just shown that a politics of division is no match for a politics of love."