In a speech before cheering supporters, Democrat Taylor Rehmet dedicated his victory “to everyday working people.”
Democrats scored a major upset on Saturday, as machinist union leader Taylor Rehmet easily defeated Republican opponent Leigh Wambsganss in a state senate special election held in a deep-red district that Donald Trump carried by 17 percentage points in 2024.
With nearly all votes counted, Rehmet holds a 14-point lead in Texas’ Senate District 9, which covers a large portion of Tarrant County.
Republican opponent Wambsganss conceded defeat in the race but vowed to win an upcoming rematch in November.
“The dynamics of a special election are fundamentally different from a November general election,” Wambsganss said. “I believe the voters of Senate District 9 and Tarrant County Republicans will answer the call in November.”



He’s not on AIPAC tracker yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was. Democrats are just Israeli and billionaire shills. They don’t give a shit about the common man.
Because the Patriot Mobile executive is a better option… At least vote. We can fix a lot of stuff later, but getting there in one piece is important.
He’s a union man. Might actually have integrity. Fingers crossed.
I’m 100% pro-union, but union leaders rarely have integrity, sadly.
Dems are a large tent. There’s subsets, like my district, that refuse that kind of money.
True but there’s an influx of anti Israel dems running but it’s hard because they’re up against AIPAC