Taylor Rehmet
Who: Taylor Rehmet
What: Texas State Senate District 9
Where: Half of Fort Worth and much of Tarrant County’s northern suburbs, including Keller, North Richland Hills and Southlake
Democrat Taylor Rehmet has a chance to flip a seat in the Texas State Senate in what the Fort Worth Record calls a “bellwether” run-off election on January 31, 2026. Because the Texas legislature doesn’t reconvene until 2027, the race is largely symbolic and the winner will need to run again in November. Still, the race is being closely watched as a harbinger of voter sentiment in the Lone Star state heading into the 2026 midterm and U.S. Senate elections.
Rehmet was the sole Democrat among three candidates who ran on November 4, 2025 to replace Republican Kelly Hancock, who resigned to accept a position in the state comptroller’s office. Rehmet was the top vote-getter with 48%--an impressive performance in a district that Trump carried by more than 17 percentage points and with a campaign that was vastly outspent by his two Republican opponents. But Rehmet fell short of the 50% majority needed, so he and Republican Leigh Wambsganss will now compete in the run-off election.
Rehmet is a machinist, union president and U.S. Air Force veteran who supports fully funding public schools, protecting veterans, and investing in affordable housing, and who has earned the endorsement of The Dallas Morning News. He recently told The Texan, “I’m focused on real life, not political theater. Working families are being squeezed and nothing else matters if you can’t afford groceries, health care, or a roof over your head. I’m not running to wage culture wars or traffic in fear. I’m running to solve problems.”
Wambsganss, the chief communications officer at Patriot Mobile, a Christian conservative wireless provider, describes herself as “ULTRA MAGA” on her campaign Facebook page and is endorsed by Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Christian Nationalist organizations. She told The Texan in an interview that unless Republicans show up, “the Democrats can steal this seat and deny the conservative majority their voice.”
Sources: The Dallas Morning News, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, The Fort Worth Report, The Texan, Texas Legislature Online, The Texas Tribune