President warned: ‘The Radical Left Democrats are spending a fortune to beat a true MAGA Warrior’<\/b>
\nDemocratic Texas Senate candidate Taylor Rehmet defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a Saturday special election for a seat the president won by double digits three times, multiple outlets project.
Rehmet, a union leader and Air Force veteran, won 57.2% of the vote compared to Wambsganss\u2019s 42.8%, with 95% of the vote in, according to The Associated Press (AP). Texas Senate District 9 \u2014 which is entirely based in Tarrant County and includes parts of Fort Worth and Arlington \u2014 was last represented by former Republican State Sen. Kelly Hancock who resigned in June 2025 to work for the Texas Comptroller\u2019s Office.
Under its current boundaries, District 9 voted for Trump by 17 percentage points in 2024, 13 points in 2020, and 23 points in 2016, according to data from Dave\u2019s Redistricting App (DRA).
We\u2019re in the New York Times!
Voters are fed up with extremist agendas that prioritize culture wars over the doing whats best for Texans.
On Saturday, we will flip this seat and get to work fighting for the issues that actually matter to YOU! pic.twitter.com\/r9r9qRhIzl
\u2014 Taylor Rehmet (@TaylorRehmetTX) January 29, 2026
Rehmet\u2019s campaign website describes him as a \u201ca union president, veteran, and working-class Texan running for State Senate to fight for public schools, affordable housing, and real results for everyday people.\u201d
Meanwhile, Wambsganss received a last-minute endorsement from Trump.
\u201cThe Radical Left Democrats are spending a fortune to beat a true MAGA Warrior, Leigh Wambsganss,\u201d the president wrote in a late Friday post to Truth Social. \u201cYou can win this Election for Leigh, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement.\u201d
The defeated Republican candidate is a prominent conservative activist and the chief communications officer of Patriot Mobile, a phone company branding itself as \u201cAmerica\u2019s only Christian, conservative wireless provider.\u201d
Firebrand Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett quickly congratulated Rehmet, calling her a \u201cfriend\u201d in an early Sunday morning X post.
Congratulations to my friend and our newest State Senator from Tarrant County, Taylor Rehmet! I met Taylor almost two years ago through Labor.
Don\u2019t tell us what can\u2019t be done in Texas. When we show up #TexasTough, we change the game. This is a seat no Democrat has held since\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Y69Ug460us
\u2014 Jasmine Crockett (@JasmineForUS) February 1, 2026
Rehmet\u2019s victory is the latest in a string of Democratic upsets in state legislative seats that typically favor Republicans during Trump\u2019s second term. In 2025 alone, Democratic Pennsylvania State Sen. James Malone, Democratic Iowa State Sens. Mike Zimmer and Catelin Drey, and Democratic Georgia State Rep. Eric Gisler all won special election victories in seats Trump carried by double digits the previous year.<\/p>\n