Texas Democrats score landslide upset in race Trump badly wanted to win
Taylor Rehmet just flipped a deep-red seat—and gave his party a shot in the arm
Texas Democrats scored a massive upset—in a landslide, no less—when Air Force veteran and union leader Taylor Rehmet flipped a deep-red seat in the state Senate on Saturday night, winning a closely watched special election that Donald Trump himself had repeatedly highlighted on social media.
Rehmet’s lead stood at 57-43 with most votes tallied at the time of publication. He defeated Republican Republican Leigh Wambsganss, the chief communications officer for Patriot Mobile, which describes itself as “America’s ONLY Christian conservative wireless provider.”
If you haven’t already upgraded to a paid subscription, we’d be incredibly grateful if you’d help support The Downballot’s one-of-a-kind work.
His victory followed a near-miss during the first round of voting in November, when he pulled in 48% of the vote in the Fort Worth-based 9th District, just short of the majority needed to win outright. Wambsganss took 36% in that matchup, while a second Republican won the remaining 16%.
The outcome was nonetheless stunning given the fact that Rehmet was badly outspent by both opponents—and given the district’s typical lean. In 2024, according to calculations by The Downballot, Donald Trump prevailed by a wide 58-41 margin, while the seat’s previous Republican occupant won reelection in a 60-40 blowout two years earlier.
That result spooked the Republicans, prompting them to pour in resources to save Wambsganss, who again dominated financially. The rescue mission, however, fell short.
Prior to running for office herself, Wambsganss was best known for engineering the takeover of local school boards by Christian conservatives. She called herself “ULTRA MAGA” on her website and leaned into that image on the campaign trail; the Texas Observer noted that it “would be difficult to find a more far-right candidate than” her.
She also explicitly urged voters to back her precisely to keep the seat in the GOP column, as did Trump.
“My very good friend, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, needs a strong conservative Republican in SD-9 to KEEP TEXAS RED!” he posted on Truth Social on Friday, and then again on Saturday. “The Radical Left Democrats are spending a fortune to beat a true MAGA Warrior, Leigh Wambsganss.”
Rehmet, meanwhile, emphasized reducing the cost of living and strengthening public schools—issues that have helped Democrats notch unlikely victories across the country over the last year.
As a result of his triumph, the Republican advantage in the Senate will be whittled down to 18-12, with one other GOP-held seat vacant. Rehmet will also face Wambsganss again this fall, as the two were the only candidates who qualified for the March primary ballot.
Even more importantly, Rehmet’s upset offers a major boost to Lone Star Democrats, who are hoping to make gains in November at every level of the ballot. Texas will host a wide range of elections this fall for both state and federal office, including a potentially pivotal battle for the U.S. Senate.
Wambsganss herself agreed that her race was a bellwether.
“This election is being called the canary in the coal mine because Democrats across the nation are watching this race,” she told a gathering of local Republicans earlier this month, according to KERA News. “If Taylor can win it in January, you’re going to have [millions] fly into Texas against every single judge, against our governor, lieutenant governor.” And perhaps against many more.
Gotta love seeing a book banner getting beaten!
The US Senate is in play in November. Now Democrats just need to execute and control everything they can control. (One of those things they can control is ensuring James Talarico wins his primary down in Texas.)