Talarico says Texas Senate win sends message to Elon Musk after Paxton defeat

A message to Musk

Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, gave more than $158 million in September to the Senate Leadership Fund PAC, the main super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. The group sent the money to Texas PAC, which backed Paxton’s campaign.

Talarico’s criticism of spending

Asked why Musk spent so heavily to defeat him, Talarico said he believed the billionaire wanted “his very own personal senator.” He accused Musk of seeking support for data centers, Texas land and water, and taxpayer dollars. Talarico said he had a record of challenging billionaires and corruption in state government. He said he planned to bring that work to the U.S. Senate and believed Texans expected him to act on their behalf.

Battleground results and mandate

CBS News projected Democrats would win 10 of the 11 Senate races considered battlegrounds. The party was projected to defeat Republicans in South Carolina, Kansas, Maine, Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina, and retain seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire.

The Alaska race remained a toss-up. Mississippi was also unresolved, with Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith trailing Democrat Scott Colom by 43 votes. Talarico called the Democratic results “a mandate the size of Texas.”

Calls for cooperation

Talarico said some of his goals would require bipartisan work. He also accused political leaders of dividing people by party, race, gender, religion and culture while, he said, public schools and health care were being cut and taxes raised for ordinary people. Asked if he would support Chuck Schumer, the New York senator, Talarico said he hoped to meet with him and hear his vision for the Senate and the country.