▶ Watch Video: James Talarico on flipping Texas Senate seat in race against Ken Paxton
Washington — Democrat James Talarico on Wednesday said his win over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race delivered a message to Elon Musk, who spent more than $150 million to boost Paxton’s candidacy: “Texas is not for sale.”
Hours after his projected win over Paxton, Talarico told “CBS Mornings” that his victory is an opportunity to get big money out of politics “for good.”
“The people of Texas delivered a crystal-clear message to the world’s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale,” Talarico said. “The power in this state, in this country, belongs to the people and we’ve got to make sure it stays that way.”
The Texas Democrat said his win over Paxton is a mandate to overhaul the campaign finance system and “clean up government” to limit the influence of megadonors like Musk.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO donated more than $158 million in September to the main super PAC backing Senate Republicans in the midterm elections. That group, the Senate Leadership Fund PAC, then disbursed that money to Texas PAC, the political organization supporting Paxton in the Senate race.
Musk’s trust also donated $10 million to the Lone Star Liberty PAC, which worked to get Paxton elected to the Senate.
Pressed on why Musk put so much of his money into the effort to defeat Talarico, the Democrat said he believes the billionaire “wanted his very own personal senator.”
“He wanted a senator who was going to do his bidding, who was going to sell off Texas land to his data centers, who was going to give our Texas water, who was going to give our taxpayer dollars,” Talarico said. “And I think he knows that I have a history of standing up to billionaires in state government. I have a history of tackling corruption and cleaning up government, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do in the U.S. Senate, and I think that’s what the people of Texas expect me to do on their behalf.”
Also in Texas, Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa is projected to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, making her the first Democrat to win the governor’s mansion in more than 30 years. Abbott was seeking a fourth term as governor.
Democrats are also projected to win 10 of the 11 Senate races considered battlegrounds, with victories over Republicans in South Carolina, Kansas, Maine, Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina. CBS News projects Democrats will hold seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire. The Alaska Senate race remains rated a toss-up, as does the Mississippi Senate race, where incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, is trailing Democrat Scott Colom by 43 votes.
With their victories over Republican opponents, CBS News projects Democrats will control the upper chamber in the next Congress and hold 54 seats.
“We saw a win the size of Texas, and that means we have a mandate the size of Texas,” Talarico said of Democrats’ successes in Senate races.
With his party in control of the upper chamber, Talarico said Democrats must enact economic policies that work for all Americans, pass universal healthcare and invest in education.
“Those are some of the big goals that we have to accomplish on a bipartisan basis, working with both parties to deliver for people in our state,” Talarico said.
The Democrat said the outcome of his race showed that Americans are rejecting political divisions and are “tired” of the owners of tech companies using their platforms to turn people against each other.
“They continually pit us against each other,” Talarico said. “They divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, by culture so we don’t notice that they’re picking our pockets, that they are closing our public schools, that they’re gutting our healthcare, that they’re raising taxes on all of us while they cut taxes for themselves.”
With Democrats projected to control the upper chamber, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is expected to seek a second stint as Senate majority leader.
Asked whether he would back Schumer, Talarico said he hopes to sit down with the New York senator and “hear about his vision” for the Senate and the country.