Contact: Aly Ferguson
aly@newpolitics.org; 480-363-6465
New Politics has backed Talarico since his first campaign, and tonight he becomes the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas in nearly four decades.
WASHINGTON D.C. (November 3, 2026) — New Politics endorsed candidate James Talarico has been elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas, defeating Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the most closely watched races in the country and most expensive Senate races in history.
New Politics first backed Talarico in 2018, when he was a former teacher running for the Texas House, and has stood with him through four terms in the state legislature and through every step toward statewide office. An AmeriCorps alum, Talarico began his career as a public school teacher and ran a campaign built on servant leadership.
Emily Cherniack, Founder and Executive Director of New Politics, released the following statement:
“Tonight, voters elected a servant leader as the next Senator from Texas. James learned to lead in the classroom and then in the State House, never losing sight of putting others first. His service taught him to look past party labels and find common ground, and Texans from every corner of the state responded to a campaign built on service. New Politics stood with James when he first ran for office and few thought he could win. Tonight proves what servant leaders can do for our democracy, and we’re honored to have been with him every step of the way to the Senate.”
New Politics is an organization that revitalizes American democracy by recruiting, developing, and electing leaders across the ideological and political spectrum who have committed their lives to serving their communities and our country, either through military service, national service organizations like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, or by demonstrating strong service-based leadership in their community. New Politics' support includes strategic advising and training in all aspects of a candidate's campaign, such as fundraising, communications, organizing, hiring, and team building. New Politics has raised over $40 million to support over 475 candidates, successfully electing more than 200 of them to office, from Congress to School Board. Learn more at newpolitics.org.
