Republicans Hold House Seats as Democrats Win Texas Senate
Republican incumbents retained four Texas House seats while Democrats secured key victories, including the defeat of Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
The 2026 midterm elections in Texas produced split results between the state house and senate levels. In Denton County, Republican incumbents successfully held four seats in the Texas House of Representatives. Richard Hayes retained District 57 with 50.6% of the vote, Andy Hopper won District 64 with 59%, Mitch Little secured District 65 with 53%, and Jared Patterson won District 106 with 51.5%.
Despite these local victories, Democratic candidates Talarico and Hinojosa won key races in a significant upset for the state. Most notably, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton lost his race. Paxton had been selected by Donald Trump during the primary over incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
These Democratic gains end three decades of lacking national Democratic representation for Texas. The shift occurs in a state that had previously voted for Donald Trump in three consecutive presidential elections.
