Democratic Texas Senate candidate Taylor Rehmet defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a Saturday special election, flipping a seat that President Donald Trump carried by double digits in three consecutive presidential contests, according to projections from multiple outlets.
The Associated Press reported that Rehmet won 57.2% of the vote to Wambsganss’s 42.8%, with 95% of ballots counted. The race filled the vacancy in Texas Senate District 9, which is entirely within Tarrant County and includes parts of Fort Worth and Arlington. The seat was previously held by Republican state Sen. Kelly Hancock, who resigned in June 2025 to take a position with the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
Under its current boundaries, District 9 has been reliably Republican at the presidential level. The district voted for Trump by 17 percentage points in 2024, 13 points in 2020, and 23 points in 2016, according to data from Dave’s Redistricting App.
Rehmet, a union leader and Air Force veteran, ran on a platform focused on bread-and-butter issues. His campaign website describes him as “a union president, veteran, and working-class Texan running for State Senate to fight for public schools, affordable housing, and real results for everyday people.” His victory represents a notable Democratic breakthrough in a district long considered safely Republican.
Wambsganss, a prominent conservative activist, received a last-minute endorsement from Trump on the eve of the election. In a late Friday post on Truth Social, the president warned that Democrats were “spending a fortune” in the race and urged voters to turn out for Wambsganss, saying she had his “Complete and Total Endorsement.” Despite the endorsement, Wambsganss was unable to consolidate enough support to hold the seat.
The Republican nominee is the chief communications officer of Patriot Mobile, a wireless company that markets itself as “America’s only Christian, conservative wireless provider,” and has been active in conservative political organizing in Texas.
Rehmet’s win drew enthusiastic praise from Democratic officials. Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett congratulated him early Sunday morning in a post on X, referring to Rehmet as a “friend.”
The outcome in District 9 adds to a growing list of Democratic upsets in state legislative races during Trump’s second term. In 2025, Democrats have also captured special election victories in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Georgia districts that Trump carried by double digits in the previous presidential election.
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