As if any more proof was needed, the current White House administration is under deeper water than initially thought.
In a runoff election for Texas Senate District 9, a region that Donald Trump won in 2024 by +17, an Air Force vet and union leader defeated a hyper-conservative Southlake corporate executive personally backed by the 34-count felon.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet ran on a platform of protecting public schools, lowering property taxes, making housing more affordable for all, and broadening workers’ rights, while his Republican opponent, Leigh Wambsganss, did nothing but repeat the same petty grievances and culture-war-nonsense talking points wafting out of D.C. like the stink of a dirty diaper every day.
“Tonight,” Rehmet said in a statement, “we proved that when leaders take communities seriously, listen to voters, and fight for working people, new outcomes become possible. From the very beginning, this campaign has focused on the real issues people face every day: lowering costs, protecting public schools, and restoring trust in a broken political system. That message brought together folks from across Senate District 9 who may not always agree but share a belief that the government should work for everyday Texans.”
Working in Rehmet’s favor, Wambsganss’ primary opponent, John Huffman, the best funded of all three candidates thanks to casino interests, did not throw his supporters her way after losing to her. Though high-rolling Republican donors emptied their pockets into Wambsganns’ campaign and Trump made a big deal out of endorsing her and urging MAGA to the polls, she still lost by double digits. Rehmet won by +14, becoming the first Democrat elected to represent SD-9 since the year of our Lord 1983, with 57% of the vote.
District 9 includes a huge swath of Fort Worth, parts of Arlington, and all of Keller.
Rehmet’s win is great news for sensible governance but is mostly symbolic. The State Legislature will not convene until next year, meaning he will have to run again in November. As of now, he and Wambsganns will both be on their respective primary ballots.
Conservative commentator Steve Bannon once infamously said, “As Tarrant County goes, so goes Texas, right? As Texas goes, so goes MAGA. And as MAGA goes, so goes the United States of America. And as the United States of America goes, so goes the world.”
Trump’s mishandling of the economy and war on everyday citizens in the name of border patrol partly explain his dismal poll numbers, with the Pew Research Center reporting a disapproval rate of around 60%. He also hasn’t been helped by recently released accusations against him in the Epstein files, including claims of raping children.
This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.
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