Katherine Sparks knows the State Capitol grounds very well.
She has repeatedly gone to protest against various policies. As a middle school teacher in Austin, she cares about education issues.
Tuesday evening, for the first time, she came to the Capitol to party. Minutes after Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico claimed victory, she rushed toward downtown Austin.
“I just feel like hope is back,” said Sparks, wearing a bright blue sweatshirt.
Sparks was joined by more than 100 revelers who rushed to the Capitol to see it for themselves: Texas blue.
A crowd of revelers – still in the throes of a mixture of joy and shock – gathered under the live oaks lining the entrance to the Capitol. Bubbles floated in the air, joined by a mix of cheers and honking horns from passersby. Some were still in their pajamas because they wanted to get there as soon as possible. The celebrations lasted well past midnight.
“I teach the poorest kids and Talarico has had my vote since day one,” she said. Looking at the illuminated Capitol, Sparks added, “We took it back, it’s ours.” »
No Democrat has been elected to statewide office since 1994, meaning that for a large portion of young people, this election marked the first time they had seen a Democrat win a statewide seat in Texas — let alone a slate of them.
Hilary Delham, 37, jumped in a car with her partner and headed straight to the Capitol with the windows rolled down, doing her best Paul Revere impersonation: “I was screaming at the top of my lungs to spread the news, we won.”
“I think women across Texas should feel a lot safer tonight,” she said. “My heart is so full knowing that Gina Hinojsa is in office. I really feel like she’s going to address a lot of things that concern the women of Texas.”
Many in the crowd had never celebrated a statewide Democratic victory.
“My whole conscious life has been nothing but Republican,” said Sean Dobbs, 19, who was a sophomore when Gov. Greg Abbott’s first term began. “It’s just something I can’t really imagine happening here. It’s incredible.”
Students collected campaign signs from campus grounds and local lawns before marching to the Capitol, where they held up the oversized signs in front of a stream of honking cars. Some were kissing, others were dancing and jumping to deafening music.
Jayden Lacaille, 19, hoisted one end of a Democratic campaign sign she had hung while walking from the University of Texas at Austin; another student – a complete stranger, she said – held the other end of the line.
“I’ve never been happier,” Lacaille said. “What I really want is for us all to feel that equality and that every one of our votes counts, and for us all to feel like we all have someone looking out for us in our corner, and I feel like Talarico will be that for us.”
For Alma Zamora, a 27-year-old transgender person, the election results mean she can stay in Texas.
“The last few years I’ve been thinking about leaving, but this is where my community is,” Zamora said. “I don’t feel like I should be kicked out of my own state.”
Kaye Schultz, 73, moved to Texas in 1989 and said that since Ann Richards’ tenure as governor, she has been waiting for a Democrat to fill the seat again. Banging a spoon on a pot, Schultz cheered with the crowd.
For her, tonight’s election results look like “a fulfilled hope” and “the fact that there are people who really think that enough is enough, and that there are enough of us to make a difference.”
Schultz feared he would not see a Democrat running Texas in his lifetime. But with a broad smile, she said, “Hope is a thing with feathers. »
