Election 2026 live results: Democrat Colom leads Republican Hyde-Smith by about 1,000 votes in Mississippi Senate Race

Democratic Sen.-elect James Talarico received more votes in the early vote than his Republican opponent Ken Paxton received in total, according to the Texas secretary of state's election results.

That means that even if a single vote was not cast for Talarico on Election Day, he still would have won, based on the data that is available.

According to the Texas secretary of state's election results, Talarico received 4,397,474 early votes cast; Paxton received 4,249,373 votes total.

ABC News projected Talarico won the Texas Senate race over Paxton with Talarico receiving 55% of the total votes compared to Paxton's 43% of the total votes.

-ABC News' Diana Paulsen

Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar formally launched his bid to be the next majority whip, according to a letter sent to colleagues on Thursday.

Aguilar, if elected, would become the first Latino majority whip in American history.

The Democrat has been serving as the caucus chairman in the minority. He is running for the No. 3 job unopposed and is expected to receive vast support from his Democratic colleagues.

"With a Democratic majority, we’ll have the tools to rein in this out-of-control administration and investigate the agencies, officials and corporations that have been making life harder and more expensive for our communities. I look forward to working with each of you to deliver on our affordability agenda," Aguilar wrote.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts asked House Democrats for their support to become the next majority leader in a letter to colleagues on Thursday.

Clark, 63, would be the first woman to assume this role if she wins.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi broke barriers in 2007 when she became the first woman speaker and previously served as the Democratic whip and minority leader, the first female in both roles.

Clark, a progressive Democrat, said her priority in the No. 2 role "will be ensuring that every corner of our Caucus is heard and empowered to have a role in the policymaking process."

Clark, a progressive, and Hakeem Jeffries have been at odds over issues such as Israel and the Middle East.

The House in July voted on a GOP measure to eliminate U.S. aid to Israel. Jeffries opposed it while Clark voted in favor at the time.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Democrat Scott Colom and GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, the candidates in the highly watched Senate race in Mississippi, are separated by roughly 1,000 votes as of the current vote count Thursday morning.

According to the current vote count, Colom has 464,933 total votes (49% of the vote) compared to Hyde-Smith's 463,788 votes (48.9% of the vote), according to election data Thursday morning.

Independent candidate Ty Pinkins has 19,934 votes (2% of the vote).