https://www.texastribune.org/2026/11/04/texas-democrats-blue-wave-no-spaces-short/

Gov. Greg Abbott, the most powerful and well-resourced governor in modern Texas history, was unseated by Gina Hinojosa.

Attorney General Ken Paxton, who in past elections cast off impeachment, indictment and infidelities, fell to James Talarico in his bid for the U.S. Senate.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the iron-fisted ruler of the Texas Senate, went down to a little known state representative.

Republicans lost the attorney general’s office, one of the most influential conservative legal positions in the country. The new congressional map Republicans drew yielded them no gains — in fact, they lost one seat overall.

…nothing could have prepared either side for what happened Tuesday night — a full flip of statewide political control on a scale unseen in this state since Reconstruction

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[–] 67 points 12 hours ago (13 children)

The new congressional map Republicans drew yielded them no gains — in fact, they lost one seat overall.

It still allowed them to minimize the loss to only one member of the House; of their five attempts, they successfully flipped the 32nd district Republican.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

    what do you mean by "flipped the 32nd district"? district numbers have no consistency after each redistricting. they just numbered a completely different district that happened to be Republican the 32nd.

    enWikipedia tables showing the new district has always historically voted Republican

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  • [–] 22 points 11 hours ago (9 children)

    It’s a little more complicated than that. It’s not just a matter of net gains and losses of seats, it also is important to consider which races were one by Democrats. They were all in very important districts in the states. Not to mention that the losses were within a hair. They were all extremely close, not something we had in 2024. It’s a very strong indicator that the entire country is swinging back to the left.

    Take Florida for example: Democrats lost both the governor’s race and the Senators race, but they were very very very very close. The last time those seats were up for election, there was a pretty big gap between Democrats and Republicans. Not so much anymore. Plus, in Florida, we picked up three Democratic house seats, two of which were in gerrymandered districts, yet Dems won anyway.

    I remember the last time Florida was a blue state… It was a much better place to live. And although we have a GOP governor and senators, the rest of the state is definitely shifting back to the left. A lot. 2028 will be extremely interesting indeed.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 hours ago (1 child)

    Reading this as a permanent realignment is wrong-headed. This is one election where the electorate punished an extremely unpopular president. It's unlikely we see another democratic win like this for some time.

    What this tells me about Florida is that it is a far right state now. It's about as red as South Carolina, Mississippi, or Montana. In an election where republicans aren't as hated it will not be close.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 hours ago (5 children)

    Florida does seem headed back to where they were in the 90's when I left for which I'm glad. I'll probably end up buying some property down there to retire and it would be nice if the state was sane again

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  • [–] 16 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

    I lived in Orlando from 01-07, and it was a pretty cool place. artsy with a good night life and LGBTQ scene. I moved back from NYC a couple of years ago, and wow is this place dead. Ron Desantis and his particular brand of Trumpism has had a huge impact on the culture of the city.

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  • [–] 10 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

    Fascism can't stand diversity, culture, humor, education, complexity or empathy. What makes a good night life? The very things they can't stand and will actively work to destroy. Sorry to hear that Orlando went dark in the face of oppression.

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