Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election for an open Texas state Senate seat on Saturday, extending a run of surprising Democratic victories in low-turnout contests across the country, the Associated Press reported.
Rehmet, a labor union leader and veteran, defeated Republican challenger Leigh Wambsganss in a district considered reliably Republican, with most votes counted. With the race still largely in the rearview, Rehmet was leading by more than 14 percentage points, according to AP’s reporting.
The seat became available after the four-term Republican incumbent, Kelly Hancock, resigned to take a statewide office. Republicans have held the district for decades, and the state Senate seat’s political geography—centered in Tarrant County—has generally leaned GOP. AP reported that Trump won Tarrant County by 5 points in 2024, while President Joe Biden carried it in 2020 by about 1,800 votes out of more than 834,000 cast.
The race also drew attention from the Trump White House and party allies. AP reported that Trump distanced himself from the outcome on Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, telling reporters, “I’m not involved in that. That’s a local Texas race.”
But AP reported a contrasting message just days earlier: Trump had praised Wambsganss on his social media platform before the election, declaring she would be “a GREAT Candidate” and that she had his “Complete and Total Endorsement.” A longer post later urged Texans to “get out and vote,” describing Wambsganss as a successful entrepreneur and “an incredible supporter” of his Make America Great Again movement.
AP said Wambsganss lost despite those national boosts. She called the result “a wakeup call for Republicans in Tarrant County, Texas, and the nation” and warned her party not to become complacent, adding in a statement, “The Democrats were energized,” and “Too many Republicans stayed home.”
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, characterized the loss as a broader warning for his party in a state where Republicans control every statewide office. Patrick wrote on X that the result was “a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas,” adding that “Our voters cannot take anything for granted,” and saying that low-turnout special elections are “always unpredictable.”
Democrats framed the outcome as evidence that voters under the second Trump administration are motivated to reject GOP candidates and policies. The Texas Democratic Party chair Kendall Scudder told supporters that Rehmet won by standing with working people and discussing the future. Scudder said in a statement: “This win shows what is possible in Texas with strong organizing, great candidates and strategic investments,” adding that “People are noticing that Democrats have the workers’ backs and are delivering results.”
National Democratic groups also invested in the race, AP reported, including the Democratic National Committee and VoteVets, a veterans group that said it spent $500,000 on ads. AP said Rehmet focused on lowering costs, supporting public education and protecting jobs, and that he told supporters: “This win goes to everyday working people.”
The special election will not be the final contest for the seat. Rehmet will serve only until early January, and he will face Wambsganss again in the November general election for a full four-year term, with the Texas Legislature not set to reconvene until 2027 and the GOP expected to keep a comfortable majority.
The AP report said the special-election result comes amid broader Democratic momentum this cycle, including wins in 2025 for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, plus special elections in Kentucky and Iowa, while noting that Republicans still won a Tennessee special election for a U.S. House seat. It also cited public polling showing Trump’s approval ratings with the public around 40% and said a January AP-NORC poll found that a majority of U.S. adults disapprove of how Trump has handled foreign policy, trade negotiations and immigration, as well as the economy.