AUSTIN — A special election for a Tarrant County state Senate seat is headed to a runoff after no candidate secured a majority of the vote.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet led the three-candidate race with 47.5% of the vote, while Republican Leigh Wambsganss had 36%, according to unofficial election results. Republican John Huffman was in third with 16.5%.
“I am so excited to be in the heart of Fort Worth with my family, my friends and my team of volunteers who have made tonight possible,” Rehmet said in a statement late Tuesday.
“Teachers, senior citizens and people who are ready for change showed up to the polls,” he said, “and while we wait for the final results to come in, I am so proud of the work we have done leading up to this moment.”
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The district encompasses much of the northern half of Tarrant County, but also includes downtown Fort Worth. The seat for Senate District 9 became vacant after former Sen. Kelly Hancock resigned to become acting Texas comptroller of public accounts. The winner of the special election would serve out the remainder of Hancock’s unexpired term, which ends in January 2027.
While Rehmet ended up with the top number of votes, Wambsganss could have the inside track in a runoff. Republicans are favored in the district, which backed President Donald Trump by 18 percentage points in the 2024 election.
Wambsganss’ campaign was preparing a statement when reached for comment Tuesday night. While she had not made any public pronouncements on her chances in a runoff, several Republicans congratulated her.
“Congratulations to Leigh Wambsganss for her huge victory in the SD 9 special election tonight!” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on social media.
“She will defeat the Democrat in the runoff, and then win the March 2026 primary and the 2026 general election next November,” Patrick added. “Both President Trump and I, along with conservatives in Tarrant County, gave her our full support. It’s a big night for conservatives in Tarrant County, but we still have work to do!”
Wambsganss became the presumptive front-runner in the race after getting an endorsement from Trump. However, Huffman has been able to match Wambsganss’ political fundraising after raking in about $1.2 million from Dallas Mavericks owner and casino magnate Miriam Adelson.
Huffman was the pro-gambling Republican in the race and has said he thinks Texas voters should get a chance to decide if the state should legalize betting. Wambsganss is against legalizing gambling.
Political experts on both sides of the aisle predicted that, with the Republican vote split, the special election was likely to head to a runoff election as early as Dec. 16 between the top two vote-getters. Jeremy Bradford, a political consultant and former executive director of the Tarrant County Republican Party, said that while Rehmet got the most votes in the first round, failing to reach a majority “shows that there is a ceiling for Democrats in SD 9.”
“It’s still a Republican district, and that will be clearly evident when Senator Wambsganss is elected in the runoff,” Bradford said in a text message.
Wambsganss is a vice president of the cellphone service provider Patriot Mobile, often acting as a surrogate at Republican and conservative events. The company fashions itself as a right-leaning cellphone company and dedicates a portion of its profits to conservative causes.
Rehmet is a labor organizer who works as a mechanic at Lockheed Martin. He has led his union’s local and regional chapters.
Huffman is the former mayor of Southlake and owns a real estate company. He ran for Congress in 2024, but came in third place in the Republican primary.