After a surprise Democratic win in a GOP-leaning Tarrant County state Senate runoff, Republican frustration has turned to blame.
John Huffman, a former Southlake mayor who finished third in November’s special election for that seat, said Republican nominee Leigh Wambsganss failed to unite the party behind her.
“This runoff was marked by failed opportunities to unify,” Huffman, a Republican, wrote on social media.
He said her campaign never reached out to the 19,000 voters who backed him and only contacted him days before early voting began.
Breaking News
“When she and I finally did meet, she ended the conversation almost as soon as it started,” he said.
Wambsganss, a conservative activist, dismissed his comments. “That statement was just a little sour grapes and ridiculous, and this is a time where we shouldn’t be doing that,” she said.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a union leader, won the state Senate runoff Saturday by more than 14 percentage points, a shocker in a district President Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2024.
“This is a win for working people,” Rehmet said Monday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “The folks that work every day in this Senate district, they are looking for something different.”
Just over 15% of registered voters cast ballots. The runoff was held on an unusual date, and early voting turnout was dragged down by several days of freezing, icy weather.
Still, early analysis of the vote pattern suggested a sizable number of Republicans crossed party lines and that independent voters also favored Rehmet.
GOP finger-pointing
In an interview Monday with conservative Dallas radio host Mark Davis, Wambsganss disputed Huffman’s account that her campaign didn’t work to bring Republicans together.
She said he still was stinging from his November showing, when he pulled in 16% of the vote and she got 35%, sending her into the runoff with Rehmet, who led in November with 48%.
Wambsganss outraised and outspent Rehmet heading into the runoff. Her campaign focused on social conservative issues and property tax cuts. Rehmet centered his message on affordability and working-class concerns.
Davis suggested that Wambsganss’ runoff effort resembled a primary-style campaign rather than one aimed reaching more independents and moderates.
Wambsganss said the loss came down to turnout.
“Republicans did not show up,” she said, noting tens of thousands of GOP voters who typically participate in general elections stayed home.
From left, Senate District 9 candidates John Huffman, Taylor Rehmet and Leigh Wambsganss. Courtesy photos.
Philip Jankowski
Wambsganss, 58, is an executive at Patriot Mobile, a cellphone provider known for backing conservative causes and local school board candidates.
Rehmet, 33, is an aircraft mechanic who works on F-35 fighter jets at Lockheed Martin. He is also a union leader and leaned heavily into labor issues during the campaign.
Rehmet will serve out the final year of former Sen. Kelly Hancock’s unexpired term. He resigned and now is serving as acting comptroller.
Rehmet and Wambsganss will face each other again in November, when turnout is expected to be much higher.