“EVERYTHING IS BIGGER in Texas, including the shock of this win,” Gina Hinojosa said in her victory speech on November 3rd. Though she had spent months telling voters that a Democrat could win the governorship(州长职位), she clearly hadn’t believed it. At an election-night watch party for James Talarico, the Democratic Senate candidate, staffers refreshed early-voting results pages, wondering if stellar(出色的，亮眼的) numbers were a glitch(小故障，技术差错)—pundit(权威人士，评论员)s had reckoned he could win only narrowly. By midnight, bleary-eyed(睡眼惺忪的) Texans in “Talafreako” shirts flooded downtown Austin cheering in disbelief: Democrats had swept Texas, claiming the Senate seat by a 12-point margin, replacing every Republican statewide official on the ballot, picking up one congressional seat and flip(翻转（选区），翻盘)ping the Texas House. Republicans had outspent them more than two to one. It was a stunning upset(颠覆性的胜利，冷门) in what has been America’s biggest red state.
“在得克萨斯，什么都更大，包括这场胜利带来的震撼，”吉娜·希诺霍萨在11月3日的胜选演讲中说。尽管她花了数月时间告诉选民，民主党人能赢得州长职位，但显然她自己也没信。在民主党参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科的选举夜观票会上，工作人员不断刷新提前投票结果页面，怀疑那些亮眼的数字是不是故障——权威人士此前估计他只能险胜。到午夜时分，身穿“塔拉 freak”T恤、睡眼惺忪的得州人涌向奥斯汀市中心，难以置信地欢呼：民主党横扫得州，以12个百分点的优势拿下参议院席位，取代了选票上所有共和党全州官员，多夺一个国会席位，并翻转了得州众议院。共和党的竞选支出是民主党的两倍多。在这个美国最大的红州，这是一场惊人的颠覆。
Democrats won back some Texans who had voted Republican in 2024. This year average margin(优势，差距)s of victory in four South Texas districts topped 20 points, as dismay(沮丧，惊愕) over economic issues and immigration-enforcement tactics(移民执法手段) sent voters rushing back to Democrats. The party also, at last, convinced more longtime Republicans to try something new. Collin, Denton and Tarrant counties, Republican-leaning(倾向共和党的) suburbs north of Dallas, all flipped. Democrats won four of the five congressional seats that Texas Republicans gerrymandered last year, ostensibly in their favour.(民主党赢得了得州共和党去年为自身利益而重新划分的五个国会选区中的四个。)
民主党赢回了一些2024年投票给共和党的得州人。今年，得州南部四个选区的平均胜选优势超过20个百分点，因为选民对经济问题和移民执法手段的不满，促使他们纷纷回流民主党。该党也终于说服了更多长期共和党人尝试新选择。达拉斯以北倾向共和党的郊区科林县、丹顿县和塔兰特县全部翻蓝。民主党赢得了得州共和党去年为自身利益而重新划分的五个国会选区中的四个。
What will Texas Democrats do with their new power? Kendall Scudder, the state Democratic Party chairman, insists Texas Democrats are different from their national counterpart(对应的人，同僚)s. “A lot of us really believe that the government should provide you with positive services, be fair to everybody and get the hell out of(滚出，别干涉) your lives,” he told The Economist the morning after the election. The task now, he added, is to “start dispelling these myths that they perpetuate through Fox News that we’re a bunch of tax-and-spend liberals, but instead be responsible stewards.”(他补充说，现在的任务是“开始破除他们通过福克斯新闻散布的神话——说我们是一群只会征税花钱的自由派，而我们要做负责任的管家”。) Asked whether the party would prioritise rolling back social policies, such as Texas’s strict abortion ban, he didn’t respond directly. Instead, he said he hopes Democrats in Washington can reverse the cuts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act(《一大美丽法案》), particularly to health care. Texas has the country’s highest rate of uninsured(无保险的) citizens; less money for rural health care is due to force hospital closures across the state.
得州民主党人会如何运用新权力？州民主党主席肯德尔·斯卡德坚称，得州民主党人与全国的同僚不同。“我们很多人真的相信，政府应该为你提供积极的服务，公平对待每个人，然后别来干涉你的生活，”他在选举次日早晨对《经济学人》说。他补充说，现在的任务是“开始破除他们通过福克斯新闻散布的神话——说我们是一群只会征税花钱的自由派，而我们要做负责任的管家。”当被问及该党是否会优先撤销社会政策（如得州严格的堕胎禁令）时，他没有直接回答。相反，他说希望华盛顿的民主党人能逆转《一大美丽法案》中的削减，尤其是医疗保健方面。得州拥有全国最高的无保险公民比例；农村医疗经费减少将迫使全州医院关闭。