Statement by Lone Star Project Director Matt Angle on the results of the State Senate District 9 Special Election
Tarrant County voters sent a strong and, for some, unexpected message by giving Taylor Rehmet nearly 48 percent of the vote in the special election in State Senate District 9, considered by most to be safely Republican.
Rehmet ran first in a multi-candidate field and more than 10 points ahead of the second-place finisher, hand-picked MAGA activist Leigh Wambsganss. Rehmet got 47.6 percent of the vote compared to Wambsganss’ 36 percent, and Rehmet was less than 3,000 votes away from an outright majority.
Among those not surprised by the strong showing were Taylor Rehmet and his army of supporters that include Democrats, Independents, and some clear-eyed Republicans. From day one, Taylor focused on the core issues important to Tarrant County voters – low taxes, good jobs, good schools, and driving utility and other prices down.
Rehmet’s message contrasts sharply with Wambsganss who works as a MAGA mouthpiece for Patriot Mobile, a cellular service company that skims revenue to back ideologically extreme candidates and causes.
Wambsganss’ second place finish ahead of the more traditional Republican candidate, John Huffman, is further confirmation that the Republican Party in Tarrant is now entirely dominated by the most extreme MAGA elements in our culture.
Make no mistake, Texas Senate District 9 was drawn to be a safe district for Republicans, but no district can be expected to back candidates whose only qualification is expertise in fomenting hate and pitting Texans against each other.
Taylor Rehmet is giving District 9 voters a chance to be represented by someone who brings a clear-eyed and fair-minded point of view to public service. Wambsganss is promising more hateful division and mindless devotion to ideologue leaders in Austin and Washington.
