From NBC News · Dennis Romero · · 1m 10s
Texas Democrat Talarico flips Senate seat, appears on SNL
James Talarico won Texas's U.S. Senate race for Democrats and made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live days later.
In brief
James Talarico won Texas's U.S. Senate race for Democrats and made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live days later. Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton to flip Texas's U.S. Senate seat blue for the first time in decades, then appeared on SNL. Originally reported by NBC News.
Democrat flips Texas Senate seat
James Talarico, a state lawmaker and seminarian, defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday, flipping the seat from Republican to Democratic for the first time in decades.
Texas Democrats sweep statewide offices
Talarico's victory was part of a sweep by Texas Democrats, who claimed every statewide office up for grabs, including state Rep. Gina Hinojosa's gubernatorial win after a decades-long drought.
Talarico appears on SNL cold open
Days after his election victory, Talarico made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live's cold open, which featured celebrations of Tuesday's Democratic wins and set up Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as likely House speaker.
Talarico jokes about campaign texts
The senator-elect told the SNL audience, "I'm James Talarico, the guy who's been texting you every day asking for five dollars." He then suggested working with President Trump to make life better for everyday Americans.
“I'm James Talarico, the guy who's been texting you every day asking for $5.”
The main idea
Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton to flip Texas's U.S. Senate seat blue for the first time in decades, then appeared on SNL.
