What Texas Senator-Elect James Talarico called “the politics of love” ruled the day Tuesday as progressive faith leaders won decisive victories across the country in the midterm elections.
Five Presbyterians in various spaces of leadership and visibility in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – a seminarian in Texas, ruling elders from North Carolina and Delaware, and an ordained minister in Iowa – were elected yesterday to national office in the 2026 midterm elections.
Among the most closely watched victories was Presbyterian Talarico (D), an Austin Seminary M.Div. candidate, who defeated state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Talarico claimed that “hope and faith won.”
Talarico made love a central tenet of his campaign and gave his victory speech in Austin with the words “Love Thy Neighbor” front and center. He talked about the “barefoot rabbi” who didn’t stay in his room and pray but instead flipped over the tables of injustice.
Lindsay James (D-Iowa) defeated Republican Joe Mitchell in a race for Iowa’s second congressional district. James, who earned her M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2007, served as an ordained Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister and chaplain for 10 years before her election to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2019. In a Sojourners story, James said she became a chaplain “to serve people in their hardest moments” and promised to do the same as a member of Congress.
In another closely watched race, North Carolina voters chose Senator-elect Roy Cooper, a former North Carolina governor, PC(USA) ruling elder and former Sunday school teacher at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. Cooper faced Republican Michael Whatley, who is a former chair of the Republican National Committee.
“I know how much Roy’s life of faith means to him,” said Grier Booker Richards, associate pastor for faith formation and worship ministries at White Memorial Presbyterian Church. “His Christian faith very much informs his servant’s posture.”
Sarah McBride (D-Del.), a former elder and youth leader at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, was re-elected at-large for the U.S. House. McBride, first elected in 2024, is the first openly transgender woman to serve in Congress.
Sixteen-year Senate veteran Chris Coons (D-Del.) also was re-elected to his seat, defeating challenger Michael Katz. Coons, a Presbyterian elder, earned his Master of Religion degree from Yale Divinity School.
“I think this election was a reminder that character matters,” said Chris Currie, senior pastor at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, Louisiana.
On Wednesday, the Office of Public Witness in Presbyterian Life & Witness released a statement in reaction to election results, which read, in part:
“We will pray for those elected to public office, regardless of party or position, and call them to govern with humility, integrity, compassion, and accountability. We will celebrate where justice advances, lament where our neighbors are harmed, and continue to speak when the dignity and rights of God’s children are threatened.
We give thanks to the millions of people who made their voices heard at the ballot box; for the poll workers, election administrators, volunteers, election observers, poll chaplains, and countless others who helped make these elections possible. Above all, we give thanks to the dedicated state and local officials who administer our elections and uphold the essential democratic practice of free and fair elections.
We recognize that this morning brings a range of emotions. Some are celebrating, while others are grieving, disappointed, or fearful about what lies ahead. As people of faith, we hold these experiences in tension, making room for both celebration and lament. We are reminded that God alone is Lord of the conscience. God is our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. No election, political party, elected official, or government holds that place. Our ultimate hope rests not in election outcomes, but in God who calls us to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly.”
