Democrat flips reliably red Texas district in victory that stuns Republican party

Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election for the Texas state senate on Saturday, flipping a reliably Republican district that Donald Trump won by 17 points when he clinched a second presidency in 2024.

Rehmet, a labor union leader and veteran, easily defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist, in the Fort Worth-area district. With almost all votes counted, Rehmet had a comfortable lead of more than 14 percentage points.

His victory added to Democrats’ record of overperforming in special elections so far this cycle. Democrats said it was further evidence that voters under the second Trump administration are motivated to reject GOP candidates and their policies.

Ken Martin, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman, called it “a warning sign to Republicans across the country”.

“This win goes to everyday working people,” Rehmet told supporters.

The seat was open because the four-term Republican incumbent, Kelly Hancock, resigned to take a statewide office. Hancock easily won election each time he ran for the office, and Republicans have held the seat for decades.

The district is redder than its home, Tarrant county. Trump won the county by five points in the 2024 presidential election. But Democrat Joe Biden carried it by about 1,800 votes out of more than 834,000 cast in 2020, when he defeated Trump at the end of his first presidency.

Trump posted about the race on his Truth social media platform earlier Saturday, urging voters to get out to support Wambsganss. He called her a successful entrepreneur and “an incredible supporter” of his Make America great again (Maga) movement.

But Rehmet had support from national organizations, including the DNC and VoteVets, a veterans group that said it spent $500,000 on ads. Rehmet, who served in the US air force and works as a machinist, focused on lowering costs, supporting public education and protecting jobs.

Democrats have been encouraged by their performance in elections since Trump took office. In November, the party dominated the first major Election Day since Trump’s return to the White House, notably winning governor races in Virginia and New Jersey.

Democratic candidates also have won special elections in Kentucky and Iowa. And while Republican Matt Van Epps won a Tennessee special election for a US House seat, the relatively slim margin of victory gave Democrats hope for this fall’s midterms.

Rehmet’s victory allows him to serve only until early January, and he must win the November general election to keep the seat for a full four-year term. The Texas legislature is not set to reconvene until 2027, and the GOP still will have a comfortable majority.