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Texas politician (born 1990s)
Taylor Rehmet (born 1992 or 1993)[1] is an American politician, union leader, and aircraft mechanic who is the member-elect to represent the 9th district in the Texas Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, Rehmet gained national attention after he won by 14.4% on the runoff election held January 31.[2] The district, which Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024,[3] has not been represented by a Democrat since 1991.[4]
Early life and career
[edit]
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]
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] Rehmet had also been outspent throughout the campaign, spending $68,000 compared to millions by Wambsganss and Huffman leading up to the November election. Going into the January runoff election, he was outspent by Wambsganss who reported $736,000 in expenditures compared to Rehmet’s $718,000. He received $500,000 in independent expenditures from VoteVets and $143,383 in donations from the Texas Democratic Party‘s Texas Majority PAC.[9]
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on January 24, 2026. 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ “Cumulative Results” (PDF). Tarrant County Texas. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
Media related to Taylor Rehmet at Wikimedia Commons
