GOP, Pay Attention: Upset Win in Special Election in Texas

There's some not very good electoral news out of Texas, and we should be paying attention to it.

Democratic Texas Senate candidate Taylor Rehmet defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a Saturday special election for a seat the president won by double digits three times, multiple outlets project.
Rehmet, a union leader and Air Force veteran, won 57.2% of the vote compared to Wambsganss’s 42.8%, with 95% of the vote in, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Republicans have held the district for decades, and President Donald Trump won it in 2024 by 17 points.

Trump had endorsed Wambsganss as a strong supporter of MAGA. Both sides spent a lot, and Rehmet got a lot of national support from the DNC and other groups.

Rehmet will only serve through Jan. 2027 to fill out the remaining term, but would have to run again to hold onto the seat in the Nov. 2026 election. The Texas state legislature only meets in regular session for 140 days in odd years (yes, really, I'm not kidding). They can have special sessions for specific topics in the interim. But they won't be back in a regular session until Jan. 2027.

Now, I know, it's a special election, we shouldn't flip out. That's true, Republicans have a tendency not to turn out for special elections. In November, with a Senate seat in play, especially if it's Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) who gets the Democratic nod, Republicans will likely turn out in force.

But can we please stop not turning out for special elections already? We need to take every election and not give an inch to these characters. This would have been a cake walk if we had.

It's also a bit of a warning that Democrats need to level the playing field by pitching themselves as better on the economy. Let's not let them get away with this. It was the Democrats under Joe Biden who drove inflation up to 9 percent. We can't let people forget that, or that we've already had a lot of positive change to cure that, with more to come. In the words of economist Stephen Moore, "Q4 growth nearly 5.5%, inflation down to 2.7%, median family income up $2,500, gas prices low." People need to hear it and feel it.

We also need to remind people that all Democrats care about is their own power, and they will pull the switch on you once they get in. They ran on "affordability" and won in Virginia, then immediately proposed new taxes on everything from breathing to breathing. Some "affordability."

🚨 JUST IN: Virginia voters are shocked as Democrats roll out a tidal wave of new taxes — from deliveries to cars, gyms, and even pet services.pic.twitter.com/lH9AsPUJe4
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) January 29, 2026

We also need to be pushing back on the constant lies against ICE and immigration enforcement. It's pretty crazy that Democrats incite obstruction, violence, and riots, then try to blame Trump/GOP for the result.

The facts are all on our side; we just need to drive them home through the muck that the Democrats and their media adherents will be slinging.

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