A massive political shockwave just hit the Texas GOP establishment after Democrat Taylor Rehmet successfully flipped a deeply red state senate district in a special election victory on Saturday. This is a genuinely stunning development because this Fort Worth-area district is one that President Trump won by a massive 17 points during the 2024 presidential election.
Rehmet, who is a labor union leader and a US Air Force veteran, easily defeated conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss. When nearly all the votes were tallied, Rehmet enjoyed a comfortable lead of more than 14 percentage points. If you look at the history of this seat, you realize just how significant this flip is. Republicans have held this seat for decades. The previous Republican incumbent, Kelly Hancock, won easily every time he ran before resigning to take a statewide office.
This victory is absolutely adding to the Democrats’ impressive record of overperforming in special elections across the country this cycle. It seems like voters are incredibly motivated to reject GOP candidates and their policies under the current Trump administration, according to The Guardian.
This is just the first domino in losing the biggest GOP state
Ken Martin, who serves as the Democratic National Committee chairman, didn’t hold back when talking about the results. He called Rehmet’s victory “a warning sign to Republicans across the country.” Rehmet himself focused on the everyday person, telling supporters that this win “goes to everyday working people.”
Rehmet, who works as a machinist, centered his campaign on kitchen-table issues. He focused heavily on lowering costs for families, supporting public education, and protecting jobs. He wasn’t just working with local support, either. He received major backing from national organizations, including the DNC and VoteVets, which is a group dedicated to veterans. VoteVets reportedly spent a hefty $500,000 on ads to support Rehmet’s campaign.
Y'all saw that a democrat won Texas dist. 9 right? And not by a little. It was a special election and he's got to do it again for Nov. but he won in a ruby red district, beating the trump endorsed candidate.
— Candy(@candymh46) February 1, 2026
It’s interesting to note that President Trump took to his Truth social media platform earlier on Saturday to urge voters to support Wambsganss. He praised her as a successful entrepreneur and called her “an incredible supporter” of his Make America Great Again movement. Clearly, that endorsement wasn’t enough to sway the outcome this time around.
While this specific district is redder than its home, Tarrant County, the county itself shows a shift. President Trump won Tarrant County by five points in the 2024 election. However, Democrat Joe Biden carried the county narrowly in 2020, winning by about 1,800 votes out of more than 834,000 ballots cast when he defeated President Trump at the end of his first term.
This Texas win is part of a larger, encouraging trend for Democrats since President Trump returned to the White House. Last November, the party dominated the first major Election Day, securing crucial governor races in states like Virginia and New Jersey. They’ve also won special elections in places like Kentucky and Iowa. Even in a Tennessee special election for a US House seat, while the Republican candidate Matt Van Epps won, the relatively slim margin of victory gave Democrats hope for the upcoming midterms this fall.
It’s important to remember that Rehmet’s victory allows him to serve only until early January. He’ll have to win the general election in November to secure the seat for a full four-year term.
