Democrat Taylor Rehmet claimed a special election victory for the Texas state Senate on Saturday, flipping a long-reliably Republican district that President Donald Trump had won by 17 percentage points in 2024.
Rehmet, a labor union leader and veteran, easily bested Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist, in the Fort Worth-area district. With nearly all votes counted, Rehmet held a comfortable lead of over 14 percentage points.
“This triumph is for everyday working folks,” Rehmet told his supporters.
His win added to Democrats’ track record of outperforming in special elections so far this cycle. Democrats maintained it was further proof that voters under the second Trump administration are motivated to reject GOP candidates and their policies.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin labeled it “a warning sign for Republicans across the nation.”
The seat became vacant because four-term GOP incumbent Kelly Hancock resigned to take a statewide position. Hancock easily won reelection each time he ran for the office, and Republicans had held the seat for decades.
The district is more Republican than its base, Tarrant County. In 2024, Trump won the county by 5 percentage points, whereas Democratic President Joe Biden carried it in 2020 by about 1,800 votes out of over 834,000 cast.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump posted about the race on his social media platform, urging voters to turn out and support Wambsganss. He described her as a successful entrepreneur and “an incredible backer” of his Make America Great Again 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 Air Force and works as a machinist, focused on lowering costs, backing public education, and protecting jobs.
Since Trump took office, Democrats have been encouraged by their electoral performance. In November, the party saw its first major Election Day since his return to the White House, notably winning governor races in and .
Democratic candidates have also won special elections in Kentucky and Iowa. And while Republican won a Tennessee special election for a U.S. House seat, the relatively slim margin of victory gave Democrats hope for this fall’s .
Rehmet’s victory means he will only serve until early January; 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 will still have a comfortable majority.