(Edited on 9/19/2026) The importance of Texas goes beyond the U.S. Senate this year. Because of the 38 congressional seats in the state and 40 Electoral College votes (second only to California), the state is a stepping stone for Democrats to take and keep control of our country for decades. Because of demographic change, Texas has been shifting from a Republican stronghold to a state that is purple and turning bluer.
If we put together a coalition of voters that can vote James Talarico into office, we have a foothold to win races for governor, the state Supreme Court, and the presidency in the state of Texas. That foothold gives us a real chance of winning the state’s electoral college votes for President in 2028 (perhaps even with Talarico as the Vice President candidate).
There is also a path for the majority of Texas’ U.S. House seats to be in Democratic Party control. When/if we win the Texas gubernatorial office in 2028, Democrats will have some real power in the 2030 redistricting preprocess. When the boundaries for the congressional districts resemble something that is fair, it could mean over a dozen more U.S. House seats for Democrats.
This would help the cause for the Democratic Party to give D.C. residents the right to vote in U.S. House and Senate races and to make Puerto Rico the 51st state.
If Texas turns from purple to blue, Democrats have a real chance of keeping control of our country for decades (and it will take that long to fix the damage done by MAGA shit-storm in the middle of the dumpster fire that has been the Trump presidencies). Democrats would control three of the four most populous states (California, New York, and Texas but not Florida). We would be more able to dominate the sets of electoral races where population matters . . . electoral college votes for president and seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans would have relatively few options to win majorities there. The U.S. Senate might be more problematic from time to time, but it, too, seems winnable.
Sound too good to be true? Keep in mind that California was a Republican state in the 1980s.
Of course, there are challenges to be overcome and lots of hard work to be done that is left out of this short article. However, the possibility is real.
Georgia has already turned light blue/purplish. Texas could be next.