Hours after Texas Democrats won two of the state’s biggest offices, James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa made their first stop at Whataburger.
“First stop post-win: Whataburger,” Talarico wrote in a social media post accompanying a photo of the two. In the picture they sit across from each other in a booth, grinning and clinking oversized orange-and-white Whataburger cups. Behind them, a crowd of supporters packs the restaurant, many holding up phones and cameras to capture the moment.
The celebration followed a night of firsts for Texas Democrats. Talarico’s victory broke the Republican Party’s three-decade monopoly on statewide offices in Texas. Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, ending more than three decades of Republican control of the governor’s office.
When Hinojosa takes office in January 2027, she will be the first Latina sworn in as Texas governor and the first Democratic governor since Ann Richards, who left office in 1995. Talarico is set to become the first Democrat to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate since 1993.
