On Saturday night, Taylor Rehmet did something no Democrat had done in 35 years. He won Texas Senate District 9, a Tarrant County seat that Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2024. Rehmet didn’t just win. He won by 14 points, representing a 32-point swing toward Democrats in a district the GOP had controlled since 1991.

The final numbers tell the story. Rehmet captured 57% of the vote (54,267 ballots) against Republican Leigh Wambsganss, who managed just 43% (40,598 ballots). This happened in what CBS Texas called “the largest Republican county in the nation.”

So how did a 33-year-old union president and Air Force veteran flip a seat that Republicans considered safe? The answer involves smart outside investment, a candidate with authentic working-class credentials, and an opponent whose Christian nationalist background may have alienated swing voters.

Rehmet’s biography reads like a template for the kind of candidate Democrats need to run in working-class districts. Born and raised in Garland, Texas, his father was an aircraft mechanic and his mother worked at a local salon. Before joining the Air Force at 19, he worked as a plumber’s assistant and at a horse ranch.

After four years of active duty service, Rehmet returned to Texas and became a machinist at Lockheed Martin, where he works on F-35 fighter jets. His union involvement wasn’t just a bullet point on his campaign website. He serves as president of both IAM Local 776B and the Texas IAM State Council. That’s real organizing experience, not campaign-season populism.

“Taylor understands the challenges workers face because he’s lived them,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant in a statement congratulating Rehmet. “He brings the voice of the shop floor to the State Capitol.”

The spending disparity in this race was remarkable. According to KERA News, Wambsganss outspent Rehmet by roughly $2 million over the course of the campaign. In the runoff alone, she spent $736,000 compared to Rehmet’s approximately $70,000.

The contrast was even starker in the final days. Texas Monthly reporter Robert Downen noted that Wambsganss spent $310,000 in the closing stretch while Rehmet entered Election Day with $0 cash on hand. In most races, that would be fatal.

However, Rehmet had something Wambsganss lacked: targeted support from organizations that know how to boost veteran candidates. VoteVets announced a $500,000 ad buy supporting Rehmet. The Texas Majority PAC, the Democratic Party’s Texas arm, contributed over $140,000 in-kind for get-out-the-vote operations plus another $100,000 for advertising.

To understand why Rehmet won, you need to understand his opponent. Leigh Wambsganss, 58, is the chief communications officer at Patriot Mobile, a Grapevine-based cell phone company that describes itself as “America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider.” She also serves as executive director of Patriot Mobile Action, the company’s political arm.

Wambsganss rose to prominence in 2021 as co-founder of Southlake Families PAC, which backed conservative school board candidates who promised to kill a diversity plan at Carroll Independent School District. The movement spread across North Texas and became a model for similar efforts nationwide.

According to her Wikipedia page, Wambsganss has stated that Patriot Mobile Action’s goal was to eliminate “critical race theory” and “LGBTQ indoctrination” from schools. Media outlets have described her ideology as Christian nationalist.

On paper, Wambsganss had every advantage. Trump endorsed her three times on Truth Social in the 48 hours before the election. Governor Greg Abbott backed her. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick contributed $300,000 through his PAC. She campaigned as “ultra-MAGA.”

But that positioning may have cost her with swing voters. One Election Day voter quoted by KERA News explained why she chose Rehmet despite typically voting Republican: “I don’t think Tarrant County knows where it is politically.”

Several factors combined to produce Rehmet’s upset victory. First, his veteran status and union background gave him credibility that’s hard to fake. When Republicans attacked him as a radical Democrat, voters could look at his resume: Air Force service, Lockheed Martin job, union presidency. That’s not the profile of an ideological extremist.

Second, the November election set up favorable dynamics for the runoff. Rehmet faced two Republicans who split the conservative vote. He won 47.6% in November, falling just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. By January, he only needed to hold his coalition together while Wambsganss struggled to unite Republicans who had backed her or John Huffman.

Third, Tarrant County has been trending competitive for years. Biden won the county in 2020 by 1,826 votes. Trump won it back in 2024 by about 5 points. Colin Allred actually beat Ted Cruz in Tarrant County in 2024, even as he lost statewide. The county isn’t ruby red anymore, whatever local GOP leaders might claim.

Finally, the contrast between candidates favored Rehmet. His focus on public schools, affordable housing, and lowering costs resonated with voters who might not identify as Democrats but were tired of culture war politics.

This result fits a pattern. Since Trump took office for his second term, Democrats have consistently overperformed in special elections. They won governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey in November 2025. They’ve won special elections in Kentucky and Iowa. Even Republican Matt Van Epps’ victory in Tennessee’s TN-07 special election came by a smaller margin than expected.

DNC Chair Ken Martin called Rehmet’s win “a warning sign to Republicans across the country.” That’s predictable spin from a party chair, but the underlying point is valid. If Democrats can win by 14 points in a Trump +17 district with the right candidate and targeted support, a lot of supposedly safe Republican seats look more vulnerable.

The question now is whether Democrats can scale this approach. VoteVets has the resources and track record to identify and support veteran candidates in competitive districts. The organization’s 2026 recruitment plans suggest they’re thinking about exactly this kind of expansion.

But there’s a catch. Rehmet benefited from an open seat and a flawed opponent. He also serves only until January 2027, meaning he’ll face Wambsganss again in November 2026 for a full four-year term. Both candidates are unopposed in their March primaries, so the rematch is already set.

Rehmet’s victory offers several lessons for veteran candidates considering races in unfriendly territory.

Authenticity matters. Rehmet didn’t just mention his military service in campaign ads. His entire biography, from working-class roots to union leadership, told a coherent story about who he is and what he values. Voters can sense when a candidate’s persona feels manufactured.

Outside support needs to be targeted. The $500,000 from VoteVets wasn’t wasted on a long-shot race. It came at the right moment, in a race where the math suggested a real opportunity, with a candidate who had already proven he could compete.

Contrast wins elections. Wambsganss’ Christian nationalist background and Patriot Mobile affiliation may have energized her base, but it also defined her in ways that made moderate voters uncomfortable. Rehmet offered a clear alternative: a working-class veteran focused on kitchen-table issues rather than culture wars.

Texas Democrats haven’t won a statewide race since 1994. They’re not going to flip the state in 2026. But Rehmet’s victory suggests they can win individual races by running the right candidates in the right places with the right support.

The party is recruiting candidates for all 150 state House districts, all 30 state Senate seats, and every federal race on the ballot. That’s an ambitious effort that reflects genuine optimism about backlash to Trump’s second term. Whether that optimism proves justified depends on whether they can find more candidates like Rehmet: veterans with working-class credibility who can connect with voters outside the Democratic base.

For VoteVets and similar organizations, this race validates a targeted approach. Rather than spreading resources thin across dozens of races, they concentrated firepower on a winnable race with a strong candidate. The $500,000 they spent in Texas SD-9 generated more value, measured in national attention and party morale, than $500,000 spread across five less competitive races would have.

The November rematch will test whether Rehmet can hold on when presidential-year turnout brings more Republicans to the polls. For now, though, he’s proven something important: veteran Democrats can win in places the political establishment writes off.