Democrat Taylor Rehmet secured a decisive victory in a special election for a Texas state senate seat in a district President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024. The win, by more than 14 percentage points over Republican Leigh Wambsganss, highlights Democrats' recent overperformance in key races. Rehmet, a veteran and union leader, dedicated the victory to everyday working people.
On Saturday, February 1, 2026, Taylor Rehmet, a labor union leader, Air Force veteran, and machinist, won a special election for Texas State Senate District 9 in the Fort Worth area. He defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist and entrepreneur, by a margin of more than 14 percentage points, with nearly all votes counted.
The seat became vacant after four-term Republican incumbent Kelly Hancock resigned to take a statewide office. Republicans had held the reliably red district for decades, and Hancock won his previous elections comfortably. The district, in Tarrant County, saw Trump carry it by 17 points in 2024, though he won the county by only 5 points; Democratic President Joe Biden had won the county by about 1,800 votes out of over 834,000 in 2020.
Rehmet focused his campaign on lowering costs, supporting public education, and protecting jobs. He received backing from national groups, including the Democratic National Committee and VoteVets, which spent $500,000 on ads. In his victory speech, Rehmet said, "This win goes to everyday working people."
President Trump endorsed Wambsganss on Truth Social, calling her a "phenomenal Candidate" and "incredible supporter" of the Make America Great Again movement, urging voters to support her to "KEEP TEXAS RED."
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin described the result as "a warning sign to Republicans across the country," adding, "Republicans just lost a district Trump won by 17 points — in Texas. That’s not an anomaly, it’s a pattern. Democrats are building on our historic overperformance, and we’re not slowing down. November is coming, and we’re ready."
This victory builds on Democrats' successes in recent elections, including gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey, and special elections in Kentucky and Iowa. Rehmet will serve until early January 2027 and must win the November general election for a full four-year term. The Texas Legislature reconvenes in 2027, where Republicans maintain a comfortable majority.
