Denton County voters delivered split verdicts in Tuesday’s high-stakes elections, handing Republican Rep. Brandon Gill a congressional victory while powering Democrat James Talarico to a countywide Senate win that contributed to his breakthrough statewide triumph.
Gill captured 51.2% of the vote against Democrat Steven Shook in the Denton County portion of Texas’ 26th Congressional District, securing a 3.6-point margin that translated to 10,612 votes. Meanwhile, Talarico outperformed Republican Ken Paxton by 8.4 points across all 253 county precincts, notching 53.3% support to Paxton’s 44.9% in unofficial returns reported by the Dallas Standard.
District Versus County Dynamics
The divergent results highlight Denton County’s shifting political landscape—a once-reliably red stronghold that backed Donald Trump by 13 points in 2024 but crossed party lines to support Talarico’s Senate bid. While 188 precincts participated in Gill’s House race, Talarico’s victory extended across the entire county.
Gill’s strongest margins came from adjacent rural counties, where he dominated by over 50 points in both Cooke and Wise counties according to Decision Desk HQ. These crushing victories helped cement his approximate 10-point win districtwide against Shook, with final tallies showing 182,648 votes for Gill versus 147,944 for his Democratic challenger.
Historic Senate Flip
Talarico’s Denton County performance contributed to his watershed achievement as the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate general election since 1988. The Associated Press called the race Wednesday with Talarico leading Paxton 55% to 43% statewide—a margin that held after defeating progressive firebrand Jasmine Crockett in March’s Democratic primary.
The contrasting results underscore Texas’ evolving electoral map, where suburban counties like Denton remain battlegrounds even as Republicans maintain firm control of rural areas. Talarico’s ability to flip a Trump-won county while Gill held his district suggests nuanced voter behavior that could reshape future statewide strategies for both parties.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/midterm-election/2026/11/04/denton-county-backs-brandon-gill-house-james-talarico-senate/