{"id":14073,"date":"2025-10-21T15:58:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/14073\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T15:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:58:09","slug":"3-candidates-running-for-vacant-state-senate-seat-representing-tarrant-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/14073\/","title":{"rendered":"3 candidates running for vacant state Senate seat representing Tarrant County"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tThis November, three candidates\u2014including two Republicans from Southlake and a Fort Worth Democrat\u2014are running to represent Tarrant County in the Texas Senate. The seat became vacant this summer when former Sen. Kelly Hancock resigned from the Legislature to lead the state comptroller\u2019s office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What you need to know<\/p>\n

Senate District 9<\/a> covers about half of Fort Worth and several suburban communities in northern Tarrant County, including Keller and Southlake. The district served a total population of 964,126 people at the time of the 2020 census<\/a>, according to state data.<\/p>\n

Whoever wins the special election will serve the remainder of Hancock\u2019s term, which runs until January 2027. The seat is up for re-election in 2026.<\/p>\n

According to the secretary of state\u2019s office, the following candidates will appear on the ballot<\/a> for Texas Senate District 9:<\/p>\n

\"tableEarly voting<\/a> began Oct. 20 and runs through Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 4. For more information about your local ballot, visit www.communityimpact.com\/voter-guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zooming in<\/p>\n

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the state Senate, endorsed<\/a> Wambsganss after she announced her candidacy<\/a> in June. Patrick said he believed Wambsganss, a business owner and political strategist, would be \u201ca great addition to our conservative Texas Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spent my entire adult life as a volunteer public servant, not for a title, but out of conviction,\u201d Wambsganss said in a June 27 campaign announcement. \u201cFrom leading grassroots campaigns to serving on the front lines of the Second Amendment and pro-life movements, my mission has always been clear: to defend conservative Christian family values, safeguard our freedoms, and ensure Texas remains a stronghold for faith, family and freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huffman, a former Southlake mayor and small business owner, has touted endorsements from local mayors<\/a> and state lawmakers<\/a> on his social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenate District 9 deserves a strong conservative voice that knows how to get things done, not just talk about it,\u201d Huffman said in a July 22 statement<\/a> announcing his campaign. \u201cThat is the kind of leadership I delivered as mayor and that is the kind of leadership I will bring to the Texas Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rehmet, a U.S. Air Force veteran and union organizer, has been endorsed by various state and local Democrats, including Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. He is also backed by several Texas labor groups, according to his campaign website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTexas is being sold off to the highest bidder and working folks are being left behind,\u201d Rehmet said in a June 23 campaign announcement<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m running because we deserve a government that works as hard as we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike a general election, special elections do not include primary races, meaning all three candidates will appear on the ballot.<\/p>\n

How we got here<\/p>\n

Hancock left the Legislature in June<\/a> to join the state comptroller\u2019s office, where he briefly served as chief clerk before taking over as acting comptroller July 1. The North Texas business owner also has experience in the Texas House and was a state lawmaker for about 18 years.<\/p>\n

Hancock will remain acting comptroller until at least 2027. The next election for a four-year term as Texas\u2019 chief budget officer will be held in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor over a decade, I\u2019ve fought for Texas taxpayers in the Legislature, cutting red tape, passing conservative budget reforms, and holding government accountable,\u201d Hancock said in a June 19 statement announcing his 2026 campaign for comptroller. \u201cAs comptroller, I\u2019ll make sure your tax dollars are spent wisely, transparently, and responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

One more thing<\/p>\n

As of press time, two seats in the 31-member Texas Senate were vacant after former Sen. Brandon Creighton resigned Oct. 2 to become the next chancellor<\/a> of the Texas Tech University System. A special election to fill Senate District 4<\/a> will take place May 2, Community Impact previously reported<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This November, three candidates\u2014including two Republicans from Southlake and a Fort Worth Democrat\u2014are running to represent Tarrant County…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[11570,150,152,151,10870,11569,116,11573,1234,11571,9066,430,5818,11568,1240,7838,122,11572,5622,11567,8551,6867],"class_list":["post-14073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-acting-comptroller-kelly-hancock","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news","tag-election-guide","tag-former-sen-kelly-hancock","tag-fort-worth","tag-john-huffman","tag-keller","tag-leigh-wambsganss","tag-lt-gov-dan-patrick","tag-north-texas","tag-nov-4-election","tag-sd-9-special-election","tag-southlake","tag-special-election","tag-tarrant-county","tag-taylor-rehmet","tag-texas-comptroller","tag-texas-senate-district-9","tag-voter-guide","tag-what"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}