In a speech before cheering supporters, Democrat Taylor Rehmet dedicated his victory “to everyday working people.”

Democrats scored a major upset on Saturday, as machinist union leader Taylor Rehmet easily defeated Republican opponent Leigh Wambsganss in a state senate special election held in a deep-red district that Donald Trump carried by 17 percentage points in 2024.

With nearly all votes counted, Rehmet holds a 14-point lead in Texas’ Senate District 9, which covers a large portion of Tarrant County.

Republican opponent Wambsganss conceded defeat in the race but vowed to win an upcoming rematch in November.

“The dynamics of a special election are fundamentally different from a November general election,” Wambsganss said. “I believe the voters of Senate District 9 and Tarrant County Republicans will answer the call in November.”

  • Formfiller@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Hopefully nobody is dumb enough to vote a republican in for 100 years. What is his stance on Israel?

    • E_coli42@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      He’s not on AIPAC tracker yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was. Democrats are just Israeli and billionaire shills. They don’t give a shit about the common man.

      • TunaLobster@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Because the Patriot Mobile executive is a better option… At least vote. We can fix a lot of stuff later, but getting there in one piece is important.

        • E_coli42@lemmy.world
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          6 days ago

          Well duh. I don’t see how my comment is being inflated with me not voting Democrat or not voting. “Democrats are the lesser of two evils” is a very common thing that leftists say.

      • Formfiller@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        True but there’s an influx of anti Israel dems running but it’s hard because they’re up against AIPAC

          • daannii@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            I’ve never been in a union so haven’t had any experience. I thought union leaders were elected by the union members?

            • elucubra@sopuli.xyz
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              5 days ago

              They usually only care about the perks, the grift opportunities, and they often sell out their coworkers in negotiations, usually paid under the table by management, to accept less than they could have obtained.

              See the Boeing strikes, for example.