By Giselle Lee | Staff Writer
Texas turns over a historic new leaf following midterm elections as top officials flip to Democratic leadership — the first time in over three decades. This follows a Democratic majority win in the Senate and Governor races, led by James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, respectively.
Apart from a slight margin in the Senate race, election results from McLennan County show a largely Republican voting pattern. Despite this, Democrats in the Waco community gathered Tuesday night for a watch party to follow the midterm elections.
After Talarico’s Senate win was announced, Waco resident Erin Baker said she “couldn’t be happier” to have someone like Talarico represent the people of Texas.
“It’s about time that we started thinking in Texas about things like our public schools and about health care and not letting billionaires control our stuff,” Baker said. “This is great for the people of Texas.”
Baker, who previously ran for House District 56, said she felt her campaign runs contributed to the night’s success, despite two unsuccessful attempts, as Democrats look to focus on policies surrounding healthcare and education.
“It’s piece by piece, day by day, door knock by door knock that makes [a campaign],” Baker said. “This is a vote for Texas public schools. This is a vote for the children of Texas, and they just found it in Talarico.”
Fort Worth senior Joseph Naylor, the precinct chair for the McLennan County Democrats, said he was surprised by Hinojosa’s win after Republican Greg Abbott conceded the Governor’s race, but was “so stoked” to see the impact of young people taking political action.
“I kind of expected it to be close and I did not expect Gina to be on top to come out on top, but when I walked in, I was so shocked,” Naylor said. “I think it shows how people that are our age that didn’t get to vote in 2024 really showed up this election and voted how I think people are feeling right now.”
Baker echoed the sentiment.
“[Hinojosa] is such a uniter; she’s a PTA mom, and I was a PTA mom, and that’s what we need,” Baker said. “It’s now very grassroots and being concerned about our kids, and she knows how to reach across party lines so much more than the current leadership. We’re going to see some great things in Texas and I’m very optimistic that way”
Naylor said the election results are a testament that people resonate with Talarico’s mission of “making Texas purple,” after increasing partisan rhetoric in politics continues to divide Texans across the state.
“[The wins are] really setting us on the right path toward being more sympathetic as a group of people as a country,” Naylor said. “I also think it’s really a sign that politics hopefully is starting to become less about your very concrete affiliation with a party and more about issues that affect you.”
Waco resident Warren Pearson, who updated attendees of the McLennan County Democrats watch party, was “very pleased” with the blue wave results, urging new leadership to “get down to the basics” of prioritizing the needs of next-generation Texans, no matter their political affiliation.
“It needs to be more of inclusive, versus this contrast of us and them; a lot of us are wanting the same thing,” Pearson said. “A lot of this doesn’t pertain to me, per se; it’s the up–and-coming population, the kids that are getting out of high school and the ones that are getting out of college, [for them to] have a brighter future. There’s not one quick fix. It’s going to take a while to get things turned around.”
