{"id":145307,"date":"2026-01-31T11:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T11:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/145307\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T11:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T11:29:11","slug":"texas-senate-runoff-election-saturday-draws-nations-attention-to-tarrant-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/145307\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Senate runoff election Saturday draws nation\u2019s attention to Tarrant County"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"&quot;byline&quot;\">by Drew Shaw, Fort Worth Report <br \/>January 31, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Editor\u2019s note: This story will be updated over the weekend as election results become available.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans and Democrats nationwide have eyes on Tarrant County this evening as residents vote in the Texas Senate District 9 runoff.<\/p>\n<p>The election sees Fort Worth Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a veteran and union leader, face off against Southlake Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist and executive of Patriot Mobile, a wireless service provider.<\/p>\n<p>Whoever wins the special election will \u2014 for the next 11 months \u2014 represent the northern half of Tarrant County and parts of Fort Worth. Immediately after the runoff, the two candidates begin campaigning for the March 3 primary ahead of the fall elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Residents can see if they live in District 9 <a href=\"https:\/\/wrm.capitol.texas.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">here<\/a> and find polling locations at Tarrant County\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarrantcountytx.gov\/en\/elections\/current-election-information.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">website<\/a>. Voting runs until 7 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 44,000 residents voted early for this race \u2014 about 20,000 fewer than in November. Early voting was impacted significantly by hazardous winter weather over last weekend, which shut down all locations on Jan. 25 and affected opening hours Jan. 23-27.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/27449414\/embed#?secret=cn7ghVGIfW\" data-secret=\"cn7ghVGIfW\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"700\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>In November, Rehmet <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/11\/05\/tarrant-voters-weigh-2-republicans-1-democrat-for-texas-senate-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">came about 2.5 percentage points shy<\/a> of winning outright but failed to get the majority vote as the vote was split with Wambsganss and a third candidate.<\/p>\n<p>The district has gone red since 1991, but <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/01\/14\/a-bellwether-election-tarrants-texas-senate-runoff-draws-national-attention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Democrats are hopeful<\/a> that Rehmet\u2019s grassroots campaign \u2014 coupled with what they see as national unrest over President Donald Trump\u2019s handling of the economy, immigration and international relations \u2014 could tip the Senate district in their favor.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260108_Tarrant-GOP-1--1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-368651\"\/>Leigh Wambsganss speaks to Republicans at a Tarrant County GOP executive committee meeting on Jan. 8, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n<p>Still, Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/01\/26\/republican-budget-tops-2-5m-in-race-for-texas-senate-district-9-records-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">have poured millions into securing the seat<\/a>. Wambsganss spent $2 million more than Rehmet\u2019s $242,174, according to campaign finance reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis election is being called the canary in the coal mine because Democrats across the nation are watching this race,\u201d said Wambsganss, addressing Tarrant County Republicans during a Jan. 8 local GOP executive committee meeting. \u201cIf Taylor can win it in January, you\u2019re going to have 600 million (Democrats) fly into Texas against every single judge, against our governor, lieutenant governor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wambsganss saw 75% of her funding come from political entities and action committees, or PACs, while Rehmet mostly relied on small, individual donations. About 20% of his funding came from PACs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769858950_92_20260122_SD9-1-1-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-383283\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Democrat\u2019s near-win in November is a telling indicator for Texas and the nation, Keith Gaddie, a political professor at Texas Christian University, previously told the Report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhoever wins will declare that it\u2019s a bellwether, and they will declare they\u2019ve got a mandate,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, irrespective of who wins this runoff, if I were the Republicans, I\u2019d be looking at what\u2019s happened in Tarrant County, and I\u2019d be worried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rehmet-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-368652\"\/>Taylor Rehmet speaks with potential voters at a political event. (Courtesy photo | Taylor for Texas Campaign)<\/p>\n<p>Such a gain in Tarrant County, which is commonly regarded as one of the nation\u2019s largest Republican counties, does not bode well for the GOP this November and beyond, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Rehmet has campaigned on fueling affordable housing initiatives, expanding workers\u2019 rights, supporting fellow veterans and lowering property taxes for working families. He has garnered endorsements from several state Democrats including Rep. Chris Turner and former Sen. Wendy Davis, progressive local politicians, as well as groups including <a href=\"https:\/\/votevets.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">VoteVets<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasyds.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Texas Young Democrats<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goiam.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">IAM Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve talked with parents who are doing everything right and still can\u2019t catch up on groceries. Seniors who are choosing between medicine and keeping the lights on,\u201d he previously told the Report. \u201cYoung families are wondering if Texas is still a place they can build a future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wambsganss describes herself as \u201cultra-MAGA\u201d and touts her endorsements from Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Tarrant County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare and others. Her <a href=\"https:\/\/leighfortexas.com\/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23044803248&amp;gbraid=0AAAABBffeLvNg4A1GwR57pxOfG8m-gMoY&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAmp3LBhAkEiwAJM2JUME11_WVbKyS6VD3EAFuTaC8lcXD-9Ytr3FjaQP4HalVDZAMt6KPMxoCdYIQAvD_BwE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">campaign has focused on<\/a> securing the border, supporting Texas\u2019 oil industry, defending gun rights and lowering property taxes through the homestead exemption.<\/p>\n<p>The seat was previously held by Republican <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/directory\/kelly-hancock\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Kelly Hancock<\/a>, who resigned to become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/06\/19\/kelly-handcock-texas-comptroller-glenn-hegar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">acting state comptroller<\/a>. The winner of the Nov. 3 election will serve a four-year term.<\/p>\n<p>Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/shawlings601\" rel=\"nofollow\">@shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/about\/fort-worth-report-editorial-independence-policy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/01\/31\/texas-senate-runoff-election-saturday-draws-nations-attention-to-tarrant-county\/&#8221;&gt;article&lt;\/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org&#8221;&gt;Fort Worth Report&lt;\/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/&#8221;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&#8221;https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=80&amp;amp;ssl=1&#8243; style=&#8221;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&#8221;&gt;<\/p>\n<p>&lt;img id=&#8221;republication-tracker-tool-source&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=389251&amp;amp;ga4=2820184429&#8243; style=&#8221;width:1px;height:1px;&#8221;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &#8220;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/01\/31\/texas-senate-runoff-election-saturday-draws-nations-attention-to-tarrant-county\/&#8221;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;\/script&gt; &lt;script id=&#8221;parsely-cfg&#8221; src=&#8221;\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js&#8221;&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Drew Shaw, Fort Worth Report January 31, 2026 Editor\u2019s note: This story will be updated over the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[409,288,116,118,117,11571,9232,122,11572],"class_list":{"0":"post-145307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-election","9":"tag-elections","10":"tag-fort-worth","11":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","12":"tag-fort-worth-news","13":"tag-leigh-wambsganss","14":"tag-senate-district-9","15":"tag-tarrant-county","16":"tag-taylor-rehmet"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145307","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=145307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}