Politics · November 5, 2026
Denton County Backs Republican Brandon Gill for House, Democrat James Talarico for Senate
Part of: Texas Senate: Paxton vs. Talarico →FreeGet stories like this compared, every morning at 7.
In the 2026 midterm elections, Republican Representative Brandon Gill secured reelection in Texas’s 26th Congressional District, while Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the race for the U.S. Senate. Within Denton County, Gill led the district-specific vote with 51.2 percent, whereas Talarico won the countywide vote with 53.3 percent, marking a shift from the county's 2024 results where President Donald Trump won by 13 points. Talarico's victory represents the first Democratic win for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since 1988, as he secured approximately 55 percent of the statewide vote.
Read the original coverage
- BreitbartMBFC: Right
Denton County Backs Republican Brandon Gill for House, Democrat James Talarico for Senate
Read at Breitbart ↗ - Daily MailMBFC: Right
From Abdul El-Sayed's psychiatrist wife to Chris Pappas' fixer husband and James Talarico's very well-connected girlfriend: Meet DC's newest power spouses | Daily Mail Online
Read at Daily Mail ↗
Reported across the spectrum
- Republican Representative Brandon Gill won reelection to the U.S. House.
- Democrat James Talarico won a seat in the U.S. Senate.
- James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton.
Reported by only some outlets
- Brandon Gill received 51.2 percent of the vote in the Denton County portion of his district.
- James Talarico won Denton County by 8.4 percentage points with 53.3 percent of the vote.
- Ken Paxton finished more than 33,000 votes behind Talarico in Denton County.
- Brandon Gill won the full 26th Congressional District by about ten points.
- Talarico is the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1988.
- Talarico's statewide total was approximately 55 percent compared to Paxton's 43 percent.
- Talarico has a 'very well-connected girlfriend' who supported his campaign.
Right-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
focus on the statistical breakdown of the 'split-ticket' voting in Denton County and highlight the personal lives and 'power spouses' of the incoming Democratic victors.
Where coverage diverges
Single-perspective coverage; cross-spectrum comparison limited.
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