Texas elects first Democrat to Senate since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988

In a result that would have seemed fanciful even a few months ago, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican governor Greg Abbott, becoming the first Latina governor of a state that was successively a province of Spanish America, a Mexican territory, and an independent sovereign republic before being annexed into the United States.Texas also elected Democrat James Talarico to the Senate, the first Democratic senator from the state since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988.Similar political convulsions in Maine saw Democrat Troy Jackson defeat Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine, ending her nearly 30-year Senate career that was considered impregnable.South Carolina, a Republican bastion, elected Democrat Annie Andrews to the Senate, defeating Darlene Graham, sister of four-term senator Lindsay Graham. Kansas, which has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932, delivered another stunning upset, sending Adam Hamilton to Washington.