Italian immigrants arrived in this country with little more than a trade, a family name and a stubborn hope. More than a century later, their descendants have been winning elections from Texas to Rhode Island, in both parties, and this week's midterms gave that story one of its best chapters in years. Starting with Texas, nobody saw it as an easy place to begin.

James Talarico, 37, a former schoolteacher turned State Legislator, beat Republican Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate. He is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since Lloyd Bentsen was re-elected in 1988, and Paxton conceded the race. His Italian heritage reaches him through his adoptive father, Mark Talarico, who raised him on the traditions of his own family. It is a reminder that belonging to a community is not always a matter of blood. In Rhode Island, Helena Buonanno Foulkes won the governorship with roughly 57.5 percent of the vote. Her family's roots run through Ischia, Abruzzo and Molise, and her career took her from the aisles of CVS to the top of Hudson's Bay Company. Her path to this win was not smooth. She lost the 2022 Democratic primary to Dan McKee, then came back in September to defeat him, and went on to win the general election.

Another great victory arrived in Michigan, where Jocelyn Benson will succeed Gretchen Whitmer after defeating Republican John James. Benson was already well known nationally as the Secretary of State who defended her state's 2020 results while Donald Trump and his allies contested them. Now she moves from running elections to running the state. In Pennsylvania's 8th District, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti unseated Republican Rob Bresnahan with about 54.4 percent, according to Decision Desk HQ. Scranton is a city shaped by generations of immigrants, Italians among them. The seat had gone Republican in 2024, so the win is a swing as well as a personal milestone. Some of the most consequential wins come with the least fanfare.

In New York, Thomas DiNapoli secured a fifth term as State Comptroller, the office that watches over the state's finances and its public pension fund. He has held it since 2007, and his family's story runs back to Paduli, near Benevento, and Sturno, near Avellino. In Nevada, Nicole Cannizzaro moved from leading the Democratic majority in the state Senate to winning the attorney general's office with about 56 percent. In Massachusetts, Diana DiZoglio was re-elected State Auditor. In the House, a long list of Italian American lawmakers kept their seats. Democrats Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen, George Latimer and Joseph Morelle held on in New York, as did Rosa DeLauro, Frank Pallone, Chris Deluzio and Jimmy Panetta elsewhere.

On the Republican side, Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino and Nick Langworthy won new terms, and Ohio's Mike Rulli, who co-chairs the bipartisan Italian American Congressional Delegation with DeLauro, did too. The picture shows how thoroughly the community crosses party lines.There were farewells as well. Republican Mike Lawler lost to Democrat Cait Conley in New York's 17th District. And Nancy Pelosi, the best known Italian American in modern politics, did not seek re-election. Scott Wiener won her San Francisco seat, closing a chapter that spanned decades. Two races remain open. In Virginia's 5th District, former Congressman Tom Perriello trails Republican John McGuire. In California's 4th, Democrat Mike Thompson is locked in a count against fellow Democrat Eric Jones.

Nobody can say for sure how many Italian Americans were elected. The National Italian American Foundation keeps the closest thing to a roster, but it also lists supporters of the community who are not of Italian descent, and it cannot capture the countless state legislators and local officials who never make a national list. What the results do show is a community that has spread through every level of American government, and it did so again this week.