Democrats swept Texas’s statewide races, winning the governor’s office and a U.S. Senate seat and ending decades of Republican dominance; Sen. Ted Cruz was left as the only Republican holding statewide elected office.

Dan Patrick lost his re-election bid to Vikki Goodwin, Greg Abbott lost to Gina Hinojosa, and Ken Paxton lost the Senate race to James Talarico.

After the losses, Patrick said Texas had “turned purple,” while cautioning that it was not yet reliably blue.

Patrick said Republicans lost support in places and among voters they had gained in 2024, including the Rio Grande Valley and young voters, largely because of concerns about affordability and the Iran War’s effect on fuel prices.

He said grocery bills, other costs and fuel mattered more to voters than Republican appeals on cultural and policy issues, and some chose candidates such as James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa as a change.

Patrick pointed to gas averaging $3.91 a gallon nationwide, 83 cents above a year earlier, as evidence of the pressure voters faced.

Patrick said the Iran War raised fuel costs and affected the election, but maintained that he supported President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran because of the threat of its nuclear program.

Patrick said Democrats increased turnout, but independent voters—who had often backed Republicans—were pivotal and could shift their support again in future elections.

Republican strategist Mike Madrid argued that the THC ban was not a major reason for Republican losses, citing economic concerns, fear and disorder in public spaces, and corruption; he said legalization was not among voters’ top ten reasons for turning out.

Patrick had made banning THC products a legislative priority and said in June 2025 that voters could oust him over his opposition to legalization; Goodwin opposed the ban and called his stance a political gift to Democrats.

A ban on delta-8 and other hemp-derived THC products took effect in Texas on July 31; after Abbott vetoed a sweeping THC-ban bill, state agencies adopted stricter rules, including testing, labeling, licensing, child-resistant packaging and a minimum purchase age of 21.

Patrick said Republicans had “serious work to do” before the 2028 election cycle and that he planned to remain a prominent voice in the Texas Republican Party.