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James Talarico wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas

The state lawmaker defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.

Politics & Policy

Texas state Rep. <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="James Talarico" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/09/09/democrat-james-talarico-us-senate" data-vars-content-id="30e8718a-f03d-4de6-acbb-a234bf7f39bc" data-vars-headline="James Talarico wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/09/09/democrat-james-talarico-us-senate" target="_self">James Talarico</a> of Austin defeated U.S. Rep. <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Jasmine Crockett" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/12/jasmine-crockett-house-democrats-senate-texas" data-vars-content-id="30e8718a-f03d-4de6-acbb-a234bf7f39bc" data-vars-headline="James Talarico wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/12/jasmine-crockett-house-democrats-senate-texas" target="_self">Jasmine Crockett</a> of Dallas for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas.Why it matters: Talarico&#x27;s victory sets the stage for a battle royal that promises to be among the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="most expensive contests" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/01/james-talarico-raises-62-million-for-texas-senate-bid" data-vars-content-id="30e8718a-f03d-4de6-acbb-a234bf7f39bc" data-vars-headline="James Talarico wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/01/james-talarico-raises-62-million-for-texas-senate-bid" target="_self">most expensive contests</a> of the year, as Democrats hope President Trump&#x27;s unpopularity translates to red-state victories.

Cornyn, Paxton advance to runoff in Texas GOP Senate clash

Neither Republican in the three-way primary cleared 50%, sending Sen. John Cornyn and Texas AG Ken Paxton into a high-stakes runoff.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are headed to a runoff after neither Republican cleared the majority threshold Tuesday, setting up a bruising fight for the GOP Senate nomination.<ul><li>Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) lags far behind.</li></ul>

Austin pop-up fuels matcha craze

The pop-up has quickly become one of the city's buzziest stops.

News

Editor&#x27;s note: This story was written by University of Texas student Trinity Orosco for Axios Austin.An Austin matcha pop-up is drawing lines that stretch down the sidewalk, tapping into a fast-growing U.S. market for the Japanese green tea.

Electric aircraft soon to jet in Texas skies

Texas cities are part of a pilot project to get electric aircraft airborne

Aerospace

Austin and other Texas cities could soon be on the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="vanguard of aviation" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/06/04/joby-aviation-xwing-autonomous-flight-evtol" data-vars-content-id="92e16a7b-bd61-47dd-af58-4be9332d54c8" data-vars-headline="Electric aircraft soon to jet in Texas skies" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/06/04/joby-aviation-xwing-autonomous-flight-evtol" target="_self">vanguard of aviation</a>, with innovative electric aircraft jetting off their runways.What&#x27;s happening: The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week for one of eight pilot projects nationally, with regional flights linking Dallas, Austin and San Antonio — with Houston planned next. <ul><li>Partners on the Texas project include the companies Archer, BETA, Joby and Wisk.</li></ul>The big picture: The U.S. is competing against China to lead in advanced air mobility.How it works: Most of the U.S. projects involve the use of electric aircraft that can take off or land vertically — imagine giant, low-flying electric drones carrying passengers or cargo that take off like helicopters and fly horizontally like traditional planes.<ul><li>Some will also include electric or hybrid planes that take off and land conventionally or require only a short runway.</li></ul>Zoom in: Operations in Texas cities could start later this year, Adam Hammons, a spokesperson with TxDOT, tells Axios. <ul><li>Initially, in a phase that could last three months, TxDOT will use traditional helicopters and fixed-wing planes alongside electric aircraft to fly the planned routes. These flights will carry equipment and perform tests without carrying commercial passengers, Hammons said. </li><li>In a second phase, operations will scale to medical and cargo logistics, such as transporting critical medical supplies or organs between rural facilities and urban medical centers in Austin and San Antonio.</li><li>Ultimately, after the electric aircraft receive final federal certifications, the network will scale — in two to three years — to commercial passenger &quot;air taxi&quot; flights, Hammons says.</li></ul>What they&#x27;re saying: &quot;Rather than isolated tests in a single city, TxDOT is building the infrastructure to handle the transition between urban, rural and state airspace,&quot; Hammons tells Axios.The bottom line: Together, the U.S. projects will create one of the largest real-world testing environments for next-generation aircraft in existence, the FAA said in a statement.