TX-SD09: A Tight Statehouse Race in Texas Offers Republicans a Warning
A special election runoff on Saturday in the once reliably conservative suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas, has turned into a nail-biter for Republicans, who worry that even a narrow G.O.P. victory in the State Senate race could be a bad sign for their midterm prospects.
The contest has drawn in prominent Texas Democrats, including former Representative Beto O’Rourke, as well as Republican leaders, such as Gov. Greg Abbott and the state’s hard-line lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, who runs the State Senate.
“I’m very concerned about this election,” Mr. Patrick said in a radio interview last week as he implored conservative listeners to vote. “Please, please, please, please.”
The concern is based on the odd timing of the election, set for Saturday, and the strong performance of the Democratic candidate, Taylor Rehmet, during the initial round of voting in November. Mr. Rehmet, a 33-year-old first-time candidate and local union leader, nearly won a majority of votes — more than 47 percent — in a district that in 2024 favored Donald J. Trump by 17 percentage points.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/us/politics/taylor-rehmet-leigh-wambsganss-texas-election.html
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