Worrying conservatives, Democrats achieved a significant upset in a Texas Senate special election runoff for District 9, a seat President Trump won by 17 points in 2024. Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a union president and Air Force veteran, defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Leigh Wambsganss with about 57% of the vote to 43%.
For context, Rehmet led with 48% in the November multi-candidate round. Trump posted three endorsements for Wambsganss in the final days of the race. The seat was vacant, and the very worrisome special election occurred because GOP Sen. Kelly Hancock resigned.
Reacting to the unexpected results, Dan Patrick, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, stated, “Low turnout special elections are always unpredictable. The results from SD 9 are a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas. Our voters cannot take anything for granted.”
Continuing, the Republican leader vowed that the Texan political machinery will get into gear and retake the seat in the November elections, saying, “I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November. We will keep Texas red.”
Another GOP advocate stated that Republicans need to realize what time it is, saying, “At some point Republicans will wake up and realize that Democrats are fighting to win. November was always going to be a real battle but tonight should hopefully remind us all that we will be fighting against a force that believes they HAVE to win.”
Reacting to the last post, one user noted, “Republicans will not enthusiastically participate if there is no RESPECTED leadership in Texas that Republican voters are enthusiastic to support & rally behind. The right leadership produces the right organization and creates the proper atmosphere required to produce a victory.”
Another conservative quipped, “IDK Luke. We’re busy having threats thrown at local parties to sue b/c one candidate was mad about not being on the voter guide even though he didn’t show up to be interviewed.” Likewise, yet another comment said, “Without Trump on the ballot, people are not motivated to turn out. The state GOP does a crappy job at any ground game; they only care about big donors. Until they get serious and put together a ground game, we will be in trouble. Republicans do not turn out for special elections, until we fix that, we will be screwed.”
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“Tarrant County, Texas, the biggest red county in the country. Democrat Taylor Rehmet beats Republican Leigh Wambsganss in state senate district that Trump carried in 2024 by 17 points. The district hasn’t voted Democratic in half a century,” one user stated to add context.
Worried, one post read, “🚨 This is not a drill. 🚨A Democrat just FLIPPED Texas Senate District 9 —
a seat Republicans held for 35 YEARS. Let that sink in. Trump won this district by +17 points in 2024.
And yet… Democrat Taylor Rehmet just won it outright.”
The same user declared, “This wasn’t a purple swing seat. This was deep-red, “safe,” MAGA territory. Low turnout? Sure. Special election? Yes. But you don’t accidentally flip a +17 Trump district. If this kind of swing is happening now, in Texas, in a runoff…imagine what a high-turnout midterm could look like.”