Democrats notched an upset victory in a special election runoff for Texas Senate District 9 on Saturday, winning a seat long considered safely Republican and adding to signs of shifting political dynamics in parts of North Texas ahead of the November midterm elections.
Fort Worth Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in the runoff to fill the vacant SD-9 seat, which covers a large portion of Tarrant County. According to unofficial results, Rehmet won by roughly 14 percentage points, securing about 57 percent of the vote. The margin represents a significant upset in a district with a Texas Partisan Index rating of R-60% and one that favored President Donald Trump by 17 points in the 2024 presidential election.
The runoff followed a three-way contest in November in which Rehmet finished first but failed to secure an outright majority. His strong showing in that initial race raised alarms among Republicans, particularly given the district’s voting history. In response, several high-profile GOP figures became involved in the runoff campaign, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who endorsed Wambsganss. Trump also issued an endorsement of Wambsganss earlier on Saturday, underscoring the national attention the race had drawn.
Rehmet’s performance in November prompted sharp rhetoric from Democrats, who viewed the race as an early indicator of broader voter dissatisfaction. After the general election, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said in a statement, “When a grassroots union organizer like Taylor Rehmet overperforms by almost 20 points and forces a runoff, it couldn’t be any clearer that voters are tired of Republican bullshit.”
While Democrats were energized by the result, Republicans emphasized the unusual circumstances of a low-turnout special election. Still, the outcome adds to Democratic optimism as the party looks toward the midterms, when it hopes to flip the U.S. House and possibly make gains in the Senate amid economic anxiety and voter anger over Trump’s immigration policies.
The seat became vacant after former Republican state Sen. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills was appointed by Gov. Abbott as acting Texas comptroller of public accounts. Hancock is now seeking the office for a full term in the Republican primary, triggering the special election to replace him in the Legislature.
Campaign finance reports show that Wambsganss and allied political action committees outspent Rehmet, though both candidates invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the race. Despite the spending gap, Rehmet led early voting with 56 percent of the nearly 46,000 ballots cast and maintained his advantage as Election Day votes were counted. Early voting was disrupted by Winter Storm Fern, whose icy conditions forced some polling locations to close for several days.
Wambsganss is a longtime Republican activist who previously served as chief communications officer for Patriot Mobile and led its political action committee. Her background also includes work in real estate and a career in television as a news anchor, reporter, and producer.
Rehmet, by contrast, campaigned on his background as a veteran, union president, and working-class Texan. An Air Force veteran, he works as an aircraft technician at Lockheed Martin and has lived in the district for seven years.
Neither Rehmet nor Wambsganss faces opposition in their respective party primaries, setting the stage for a rematch in November. Rehmet will hold the seat until then, with the winner of the general election slated to be seated as part of the 90th Texas Legislature.
For Democrats, the SD-9 result is being treated as a bellwether and a potential sign of opportunity in suburban Texas areas that have been Republican strongholds since the early 1990s. For Republicans, it serves as a reminder that turnout, candidate appeal, and local conditions can still upend expectations—even in districts long thought to be secure.
