The Texas Tribune headline early Wednesday morning says it all: “Texas Democrats’ Hopes Fall Short Once Again.” Texas voters spoke loud and clear with their ballots: They still like Republicans, at the presidential level, the Senate level, the House of Representatives level, and on down to state and local elections. While Texas was never going to flip completely blue in 2020, even if Democrats couldn’t win statewide, many local experts believed Democrats could flip key down-ballot races, especially in the statehouse. This was not the case.

“This year proved another disappointment for Texas Democrats, who underperformed the high expectations they had set for themselves, particularly in a hotly contested battle for dominance in the Texas House,” Emma Platoff wrote in the Texas Tribune. Texas Democrats hoped to flip the statehouse — Texas Republicans have held the trifecta of power (statehouse, state senate, and the governor’s seat) for 17 years. They didn’t even come close.