Democrat Taylor Rehmet Flips Trump-Won Texas Senate Seat in Tarrant County
The special election was ordered after State Senator Kelly Hancock (R) was appointed Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
The runoff occurred today in Texas to finish the election to fill a vacancy in the State Senate. The second round was ordered after none of the three candidates obtained a 50%+1 majority in the November 2025 special election. Instead, the top two finishers advanced to the second ballot.
The special election for Texas Senate District 9 was ordered after State Senator Kelly Hancock, a Republican, was appointed Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. He represented this district from January 2013 to June 2025. He was re-elected with a 60.0-40.0 victory against Democrat Gwenn Burud in November 2022.
Texas Senate District 9 spans a majority of Tarrant County. During the 2024 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump carried the seat by a 58-41 margin against Democrat Kamala Harris.
Texas Senate (18 Republicans, 12 Democrats, 1 Pending):
For District 9, Democrat Taylor Rehmet won with 57.2% (54,280) against Republican Leigh Wambsganss with 42.8% (40,600). 94,880 votes counted. DEMOCRATIC FLIP
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Rehmet is a machinist and union leader in Fort Worth.
Despite over a million dollars being spent on behalf of two Republican candidates in the November race, Rehmet came within a few points of flipping the seat. He led the first round with 47.6%. Meanwhile, Wambsganss obtained the second spot in the runoff with a 35.9-16.5 finish against former Southlake Mayor John Huffman. In the runoff, Wambsganss once again outraised and outspent Rehmet by around two million dollars.
That impressive over-performance from Rehmet in the first round gave Texas Democrats hope they could pick up the district. That has now come true with the strongest over-performance by a Democrat in 2026 compared to the 2024 presidential results. District 9 shifted 31 points to the left to elect Rehmet today. This represents the first legislative flip anywhere in the country this year. It happening in Texas may further strengthen the argument that the state as a whole is more competitive for Democrats than ever before this cycle.
Meanwhile, 16 seats in the Texas Senate will be up for regular four-year terms on November 3, 2026. That includes District 9. As the filing deadline has already passed, the three candidates from the special election are set to clash once more. Wambsganss will have to prevail against Huffman in a partisan primary on March 3, 2026. Then, the winner will face off against Rehmet as an incumbent in the general election.