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.”
Hopefully nobody is dumb enough to vote a republican in for 100 years. What is his stance on Israel?
I am honestly afraid the Repubs will start behaving themselves until after Nov…maybe even be able to somewhat reign in their Orange monkey-god and then wait to begin again with the fascism with even more vigor after the midterms. I live in a purple state with a Democratic governor with an election this year. I am terrified that my state is going to elect a Trump lickspittle this Nov.
That seems to be about all it takes for voters to forgive their representatives for their sins.
Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reacted somberly to the news of Rehmet’s victory, warning in a social media post that the result was “a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas.”
“Our voters cannot take anything for granted,” Patrick emphasized.
Totally forgotten who works for whom in this arrangement. That’s how deep the fascism is baked in.
A lot of GOP voted for this Dem. They’re sick of current leadership also. Dan Patrick needs a clue.
I mean, fingers crossed.
Republicans have a long and storied history of fighting unfairly. And this will definitely put the fear of God in them
Republican opponent Wambsganss conceded defeat in the race but vowed to win an upcoming rematch in November.
Rematch??
This was a special election to fill a spot. The prior person (Kelly Hancock) quit to become state comptroller. These two will be running in the fall, though I wonder if the groups (including some with ties to white nationalism) that spent $2.5m on her will do so again in the fall. He raised $380k, mostly small donors.
Fun fact - Texas senate doesn’t meet this year, so he might not have a ton to do before the next election, but he’ll run as an incumbent, will be getting ready for next year’s session, and it’s also a nice pants-shitting moment for the Tarrant county Republican Party which is already in the midst of a party purity jihad.
(Seriously, they’re suing and being sued by other republicans about being removed from republican primaries, as well as suing to have democrats removed from Democrat primaries)
The hell? The Texas senate only meets for 140 days in odd years? How do they get anything done?
It’s even crazier than that. If I remember right, every single law is a change to the Texas constitution.
There is also a saying that we would be better off if it were held for two days every 140 years. And there have been some bills that have died (DMCA, IIRC) because they couldn’t get through committee in time, so the “have to be passed this year” had to wait 2 more years.
But they can and will call “special session” for the sorriest of reasons.
They don’t, that’s the point
New soap opera – As Texas Turns
Ha! It has to actually turn. We’ll see what fall looks like.
Yeah, the regular election cycle is apparently coming up in a few months.
Wambsganss
Can’t make a Tomlette without breaking a few Gregs.
It’s just a game for some people.
It is a game for people who can spend over $2M on a campaign like this and probably do it again a few months later.
Leigh was bankrolled by two PACs, one of which is owned by a couple of billionaires.
As TryingSomethingNew said above he might jusy get lucky, because without the Texas Senate sitting before Nov the GOP will have little cannon fodder to blast him with.
One would almost wish there were more upcoming elections like this.
This gives me hope. So far the runoff are seeing a huge blue shift. I just hope people go out and vote and don’t be purist saying the candidate is not perfect. We are in this mess because many refused to vote
We need to remind people that a binary decision means you try for one or you get the other.
I know this is a tangent, but does the bible contain many earthquakes?
Paul and Silas get broken out of jail by an earthquake
There’s one when Jesus dies I believe.
There’s the walls of Jericho thing.
Some hornblowers make it feel like the earth moved. They’re that good.
https://biblerepository.com/bible-verses-about-earthquakes-2/
Yes, though based on the list there sounds like the most-dramatic ones there are in Revelation, which is a prophetic vision of the future, rather than about the past.
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
A bunch of those are a huge stretch, but I’ll take the revaluations one.
