So billionaire right-wing dipstick Elon Musk moved to Texas and then Republican Gov. Greg Abbott lost to Democrat Gina Hinojosa and the whole darn state basically turned purple.
In one of the more deliciously shocking turns of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, Democrats managed to bounce Abbott and win a U.S. Senate seat in a state generally considered redder than Texas red chili.
It happened with Musk pouring millions into the GOP races, part of a sweeping blue wave that showed American voters have had it with billionaires like Musk as well as with President Donald Trump and his party of lackeys and suck-ups.
Abbott was one of the president’s chief boot polishers, but few expected Hinojosa would beat him. The most closely watched race in Texas was between
Democrat James Talarico and Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Talarico’s victory came first, then Hinojosa’s was the cherry on the Democrats’ electoral sundae that saw Democrats take both chambers of Congress.
Democrats rode a massive blue wave to midterm election victory
They regained control of the House relatively early in the evening, and wrested control of the Senate. But it's more than that:
- Annie Andrews became the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate race in South Carolina since 1998.
- Hinojosa will be the first Latina to be Texas governor.
- Rob Sand will be the first Democratic governor of Iowa in nearly 20 years.
- Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the first Democratic governor of Georgia in decades, and the first Black woman ever to lead a state.
Result after result after result showed Democrats trouncing Republicans in races large and small, an absolute wipeout for a wildly unpopular president and a party that sold its soul to serve him and rested its electoral hopes on absurd hate-filled rhetoric labeling Democrats as communists and religious extremists.
Trump says he'll accept results, but he'll never accept he's the problem
Trump said on election night that he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of the midterm elections, and was prepared to work with Democrats.
Trump told The New York Times late Nov. 3 that he will "look forward to working with" Democrats, which is a hilarious thing to hear coming out of the mouth of a guy who routinely calls Democrats radical socialist America haters. He also said he'll accept the results of the elections, which is also hilarious, given that he has done more than any other politician in American history to stir up election denialism and has repeatedly said Democrats can only win by cheating.
This tacit admission that he's full of crap likely played a big part in the Democratic Party's sweeping midterm success. Americans are simply fed up with Trump's incessant blather, and they're seeing quite clearly now that he cares about nobody but himself. He's using the presidency to enrich himself and build buildings to carry his name. He's done nothing to make anyone's life better.
So voters made him, and his party, pay.
Musk's money didn't help Abbott or Paxton. And now Texas is purple
Abbott outspent Hinojosa by millions, many of those dollars coming from Musk’s vast pockets, and in the end it didn’t matter.
Texas voters had seen enough of their state being choked red by Republicans in thrall to rapacious billionaires and a president who launched an unnecessary war with Iran that spiked fuel prices. They were ready for some blue.
And now that big state is purple as a plum.
It’s amazing what happens when people say enough is enough. It turns out even Elon Musk doesn’t have enough cash to get his way.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abbott loses as massive blue wave turns even Texas purple | Opinion
