Taylor Rehmet (born July 17,1992)[1] is an American politician,union leader,and aircraft mechanic who is the member-elect to represent the 9th district in the Texas Senate. A member of the Democratic Party,Rehmet gained national attention after he won by 14.4% on the runoff election held January 31.[2] The district,which Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024,[3] has not been represented by a Democrat since 1991.[4]
After Republican Kelly Hancock resigned from the Texas Senate to become the acting Texas comptroller,Rehmet ran for the vacant seat to fill his term ending January 2027. In the November 5,2025,special election,Rehmet placed first with 47.6% of the vote ahead of RepublicansLeigh Wambsganss and John Huffman.[7] Rehmet and christian nationalist Wambsganss advanced to a runoff on January 31,2026,where Rehmet won by over 14% of the vote.[3] (though he received less votes in the 2nd round than in the 1st round)
Media noted that the district was reliably Republican and that Donald Trump had won the district by 17 points in the 2024 presidential election,making Rehmet's victory an upset.[8] Going into the January runoff election,he was outspent by Wambsganss who reported $736,000 in expenditures compared to Rehmet's $718,000. He received $500,000 in independent expenditures from VoteVets and $143,383 in donations from the Texas Democratic Party's Texas Majority PAC.[9]
12Goodman, J. David (January 29, 2026). "A Tight Statehouse Race in Texas Offers Republicans a Warning". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2026. He grew up Republican, he said, because that's what both his parents were. After joining his union and seeing the benefits he got as a young worker, he began to shift politically because he saw Democrats as being more supportive of organized labor.
1234Downen, Robert (January 23, 2026). "In Tarrant County, a Hub for the Far Right, a Democrat Seeks a Major Upset". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on January 24, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026. Rehmet, a gregarious, dark-blond 33-year-old, was born in Garland, just northeast of Dallas, raised by an airline mechanic and a salon worker. He joined the Air Force at nineteen and served four years on active duty before moving to Fort Worth for a job at Lockheed Martin, where he is also an aircraft mechanic.
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