Taylor Rehmet
Taylor Rehmet | |
|---|---|
Rehmet in 2026 | |
| Member of the Texas Senate from the 9th district | |
| Assumed office February 19, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Kelly Hancock |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 17, 1992 Garland, Texas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Occupation | Aircraft mechanic |
| Website | Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force |
Taylor Rehmet (born July 17, 1992)[1] is an American politician, union leader, and aircraft mechanic elected in 2026 to represent the 9th district in the Texas Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, Rehmet gained national attention after he won the runoff election held January 31, 2026 by 14.4%.[2] The district, which Republican Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024,[3] had not been represented by a Democrat since 1991.[4]
Early life and career
Rehmet was born in Garland, Texas.[5] His father worked as an airline mechanic and his mother worked in a salon.[5] Rehmet stated that he grew up Republican.[1] At the age of 19, he joined the United States Air Force and served as an electrical and environmental systems specialist in Minot, North Dakota.[5][6]
After four years of active duty, he left the Air Force and joined Lockheed Martin as an aircraft mechanic in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2017.[6] He serves as president of his local and state chapter of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.[5]
Texas Senate
After Republican Kelly Hancock resigned from the Texas Senate to become the acting Texas comptroller, Rehmet ran for the vacant seat to fill his term ending January 2027. In the November 5, 2025, special election, Rehmet placed first with 47.6% of the vote ahead of Republicans Leigh Wambsganss and John Huffman.[7] Rehmet and Wambsganss advanced to a runoff on January 31, 2026, where Rehmet won by over 14% of the vote.[3]
Media noted that the district was reliably Republican and that Donald Trump had won the district by 17 points in the 2024 presidential election, making Rehmet's victory an upset.[8] Going into the January run-off election he spent US$718,000, and Wambsganss reported $736,000 in expenditure. He received $500,000 in independent expenditures from VoteVets and $143,383 in donations from the Texas Democratic Party's Texas Majority PAC.[9]
He was sworn into office on February 19, 2026.[10]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Taylor Rehmet | 56,565 | 47.57% | ||
| Republican | Leigh Wambsganss | 42,739 | 35.94% | ||
| Republican | John Huffman | 19,608 | 16.49% | ||
| Total votes | 118,912 | 100.0 | |||
| Runoff election | |||||
| Democratic | Taylor Rehmet | 54,473 | 57.27% | ||
| Republican | Leigh Wambsganss | 40,648 | 42.73% | ||
| Total votes | 95,121 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
References
- ^ a b Goodman, J. David (January 29, 2026). "A Tight Statehouse Race in Texas Offers Republicans a Warning". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
He grew up Republican, he said, because that's what both his parents were. After joining his union and seeing the benefits he got as a young worker, he began to shift politically because he saw Democrats as being more supportive of organized labor.
- ^ Jankowski, Philip (January 31, 2026). "Democrat Taylor Rehmet shocks in upset win for conservative Tarrant County Senate seat". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026.
- ^ a b Tsiaperas, Tasha (January 31, 2026). "Democrat leads in early votes for Tarrant County state Senate seat". Axios. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
- ^ Shaw, Drew (January 15, 2026). "A 'bellwether' election: Tarrant's Texas Senate runoff draws national attention". Fort Worth Report. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ^ a b c d Downen, Robert (January 23, 2026). "In Tarrant County, a Hub for the Far Right, a Democrat Seeks a Major Upset". Texas Monthly. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
Rehmet, a gregarious, dark-blond 33-year-old, was born in Garland, just northeast of Dallas, raised by an airline mechanic and a salon worker. He joined the Air Force at nineteen and served four years on active duty before moving to Fort Worth for a job at Lockheed Martin, where he is also an aircraft mechanic.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b Dearman, Eleanor (February 1, 2026). "Who is Taylor Rehmet, the Fort Worth Democrat who flipped a TX state Senate seat?". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on February 2, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ Dearman, Eleanor (November 5, 2025). "Taylor Rehmet, Leigh Wambsganss headed to runoff in Senate District 9". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on February 2, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ Goodman, J. David (February 1, 2026). "Democratic Upset in Deep Red Texas District Rattles Republicans". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ Serrano, Alejandro (January 30, 2026). "Democrat Taylor Rehmet wins red Texas Senate seat in stunning special election upset, however, 91,224 votes were cast as compared to 277,298 during the presidential election in 2024". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on January 31, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ Jankowski, Philip (February 19, 2026). "Texas Democrat who shocked Republican establishment sworn in as senator Thursday". Dallas News.
- ^ "Cumulative Results" (PDF). Tarrant County Texas. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ "Unofficial Results". Tarrant County Texas. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
External links
Media related to Taylor Rehmet at Wikimedia Commons