Photo: iStock Editorial
On Saturday, a longtime Republican Texas Senate seat in Tarrant County—which was considered safe and which President Trump won by 5 points—was flipped by a Democrat in a special election.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss for the seat, which was previously held by acting State Comptroller Kelly Hancock. Hancock was appointed to the position by Governor Abbott and is now running for his first full term in the seat.
While many Republicans are blaming Wambsganss’s loss on low turnout in the awkwardly timed off-year election, there might be a lot more to it than that. Tony Ortiz, publisher of Current Revolt, says blaming the loss purely on turnout is just “cope.”
According to Ortiz, at least some of the blame falls on former Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French. “He was very keen on constantly attacking Democrats and making them upset,” Ortiz said. “It’s kind of the beehive analogy—you shake the beehive and it gets them going.”
Essentially, French—who is now running for railroad commissioner—inspired high Democrat turnout by pushing so hard against Democrats in a race where they might not have normally turned out in such strong numbers.
Ortiz also says there might be issues with Wambsganss herself. “You’ve got a candidate who’s got a lot of what a more moderate Republican might call ‘baggage,’” he explained. Specifically, he pointed to questions regarding her connection to phone service provider Patriot Mobile.
According to her LinkedIn page, Wambsganss has been the chief communications officer there since 2021, and Ortiz says: “People didn’t like those connections; they wanted someone who’s a little more grassroots.”
The good news for Republicans is that newly elected Senator Rehmet might not actually have the chance to write—or even vote on—any legislation, as he will have to win another election in just nine months if he wants to remain in the seat during the next session of the Texas Legislature, which isn’t until 2027.
Ortiz expects Wambsganss—who will face Rehmet again in that race—to win the second time around, but he warned that in order to oust Rehmet, Republicans will need to avoid underestimating Democrats or Democrat turnout and improve their messaging in the race.