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Democrat Taylor Rehmet unexpectedly defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in Texas’ SD-9 runoff election Jan. 31, flipping a seat that Republicans have held for decades.
Republican leaders attribute the outcome to a variety of factors, including low GOP turnout, independents’ support for Rehmet, and some Republicans breaking for the Democratic candidate.
Both Wambsganss and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick framed the results as a “wakeup call” for Republicans in Texas and across the country, warning against complacency ahead of key midterm elections this November.
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Texas Democrats flipped a historically Republican state Senate seat in a Jan. 31 runoff election, prompting Republicans to warn GOP voters against complacency ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in Texas’ SD-9 runoff election by more than 14 percentage points, according to AP News. Wambsganss had been endorsed by President Donald Trump ahead of the election, though the President distanced himself from her defeat Feb. 1, telling reporters, “I’m not involved in that. That’s a local Texas race.”
According to InteractivePolls, the election results make up a 31-point overperformance in the district for Democrats, since the same district overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2024. The Houston Chronicle reported that a Democrat hasn’t held a seat in the district since Ronald Reagan was president.
On X, Republican pollster Ross Hunt argued GOP voter turnout had little to do with the outcome and said nearly all independents and some Republicans voted for Rehmet. According to AP News, however, Wambsganss said “too many Republicans stayed home” and highlighted the results as a “wakeup call” for GOP voters across the nation.
Republicans did not lose the TX SD-9 runoff because of low GOP turnout: they lost because almost all of the independents and some of the Republicans voted Dem.
— Ross Hunt (@Ross_Hunt) February 1, 2026
Of those who voted in the TX SD-9 runoff, 50%+ were GOP primary voters or at GOP HH; only 35% were Dems or at Dem HH pic.twitter.com/osPAhm3nS4
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, stated on X that “low turnout special elections are always unpredictable” but echoed Wambsganss’ assertion that Texas Republicans should take notice of the results.
“Our voters cannot take anything for granted,” Patrick said. “I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November.”
According to InteractivePolls, Democrats have flipped eight state legislative seats across the country in recent special elections. In an interview with NPR, Rice University political professor Mark Jones said both Republicans in Texas and across the country should be concerned because Texas’ election “could suggest that the direction of the Trump administration has gone too far in the eyes of these moderates, which could cause them to give Democratic candidates a second look in November of 2026.”
As Zeale News previously reported, Texas is hoping to secure up to five extra seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in November. The state faced legal action over its redrawn congressional map that its critics said was illegally gerrymandered based on race, but the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower court’s ruling and allowed Texas to use the map for this year’s elections while litigation continues.
According to AP News, Rehmet will serve until early January and will be up against Wambsganss once more in November’s general election to compete for a full four-year term.