Taylor Rehmet was sworn in Feb. 19 as Texas’ newest state senator, becoming the first Democrat to represent State Senate District 9 in decades.

What’s happening

Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and union leader, will serve an 11-month term in the state Senate. He fills a seat vacated by former Republican Sen. Kelly Hancock, who resigned from the Legislature last summer to lead the state comptroller’s office.

Rehmet won the north Tarrant County seat by 14 percentage points during a Jan. 31 special runoff election, flipping a district he said had been held by Republicans since 1983. President Donald Trump won the district by 17 percentage points in 2024, state election records show.

“I rise today not as someone who has arrived, but as someone who has been sent,” Rehmet said on the Senate floor after taking the oath of office. “You did not send me here to be comfortable—you sent me here to be useful.”

The Legislature is not currently in session, meaning Rehmet is unlikely to cast a vote on legislation over the next 11 months. Senators are expected to hold information-gathering hearings in the coming months as they set their priorities for the 2027 legislative session, although Rehmet told reporters Feb. 19 he did not know if or when he would be assigned to legislative committees.

“My role as senator is the same as when I was campaigning,” Rehmet told Community Impact after he was sworn in. “I have to go and talk to the voters—now constituents—and help them with their issues, listen and build a plan and agenda for whenever I win in November.”

Senate District 9 covers about half of Fort Worth and several suburban communities in northern Tarrant County, including Keller and Southlake.

The details

Rehmet was sworn in Feb. 19 by former state district Judge Susan Criss. The ceremony, held on the Senate floor at the Texas Capitol in Austin, was attended by Rehmet’s friends, family, dozens of Texas Democrats and members of various state unions.

“[Rehmet] isn’t a career politician: he’s a leader who listens,” Texas AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar said. “He’s a leader who shows up and gets things done, and today he makes history as the first-ever rank-and-file union member to serve in the Texas Senate.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, was not present at the Feb. 19 ceremony. Rehmet said he had spoken “briefly” with Patrick, noting that the lieutenant governor congratulated him on his win.

Patrick previously endorsed Rehmet’s special election opponent, Republican Leigh Wambsganss, who is an executive for the conservative cell service provider Patriot Mobile. In the Jan. 31 runoff election, Rehmet beat Republican Leigh Wambsganss by 14 percentage points, Community Impact reported. Republicans received 51.9% of the votes during a three-way race in November, with Rehmet and Wambsganss advancing to the runoff after votes were split between two Republican candidates.

In the January rematch, Rehmet secured nearly 10 more percentage points than he did in November.

“The results from SD 9 are a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas,” Patrick said in a post on X following Rehmet’s Jan. 31 victory. “Our voters cannot take anything for granted. … We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November.”

Looking ahead

Rehmet will serve until January 2027 when the next state legislative session begins.

He is running unopposed for Senate District 9 in the March 3 Democratic primary, while Wambsganss is running unopposed in the Republican primary. The two candidates will face off again in the November midterm election, and the winner of that race will serve a full term in Texas’ 90th Legislature.

Early in-person voting in Texas’ primary elections begins Feb. 17 and lasts until Feb. 27, with primary election day on March 3. For more details about the contested races on local ballots and over 100 Q&As with candidates, visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide.