A Democrat scored a rare win in one of Texas’s reddest legislative seats on Saturday, capturing a state Senate district that Donald Trump carried by double digits as Republicans struggled to turn out voters in a low‑participation special election. The Democrat victory could be short‑lived, with the seat back on the ballot in November’s general election.
The upset gives Democrats a brief foothold in the deep‑red district, where Republicans have dominated for decades and are expected to mount an aggressive effort to reclaim the seat in November. Rehmet’s win, driven by unusually low GOP turnout, immediately set off warnings inside Republican circles about voter enthusiasm under the second Trump administration.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a leader of the state and local chapters of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, handily defeated Republican conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss with a margin of more than 14 points, the Associated Press reported. Rehmet told supporters at his victory rally that “This win goes to everyday working people.”
Hancock’s resignation triggered the special election after he left the Legislature last year to join the Texas Comptroller’s Office, where he now serves as acting comptroller following Glenn Hegar’s departure. Hancock is now a candidate in the 2026 Texas Republican Primary to earn the seat for the next term. Hegar resigned to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.
Low voter turnout contributed to Rehment’s upset victory — surprising given that President Donald Trump weighed in to support Wambsganss. Trump won the district in 2024 by five points but lost it to Biden in 2020 by less than one point. Trump called the Republican activist a successful entrepreneur and “an incredible supporter” of his Make America Great Again movement, the AP reported.
Trump’s influence was offset by massive support from Democrats and other national organizations, including the DNC and VoteVets, a veterans group that said it spent $500,000 on ads.
Rehmet is an Air Force veteran and machinist who focused his campaign on lowering costs, supporting public education, and protecting jobs, the AP wrote.
While the Democratic victory in a historically Republican safe district should be a warning to Republicans, it will have little impact on the Texas Senate. The Senate will not convene again until mid-January 2027. At that time, the seat will go to the winner of the 2026 general election rematch between Rehmet and Wambsganss.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.