All optics? Democrats claim ‘historic victory’ flipping deep-red Texas Senate district — but here’s what they omit

Democratic allies and legacy media outlets are celebrating Taylor Rehmet’s victory in Texas Senate District 9’s special runoff as a historic upset for Republicans — but they fail to note that Rehmet will likely never even cast a vote unless he wins again later this year.

Mark Lucas, the founder of Veteran Action, stated that a progressive political action committee funded by George Soros spent $500,000 to flip the Texas Senate race in a district where President Donald Trump secured a 17-point victory.

‘The Democrats were energized. Too many Republicans stayed home.’

“My org @VeteranAction is incredibly important to counter the left’s attempt to chip away at the veteran vote — something the GOP cannot afford to take for granted,” Lucas wrote. “Meanwhile, the radical left is investing heavily to recruit veteran candidates to retake the House in 2026. They will quickly impeach Trump and obstruct our AMERICA FIRST agenda.”

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations provided $2.58 million in grants to VoteVets Action Fund from 2019 to 2024, according to the foundation’s website. The grants included support for the organization’s advocacy of “progressive, diplomacy-first foreign policy,” “congressional war powers,” and “preventing executive abuse.”

On January 31, VoteVets announced in a post on X that it was proud to have endorsed and financially supported Rehmet with “over $500K” in an independent expenditure.

Rehmet defeated Republican opponent Leigh Wambsganss, securing a 14-point victory.

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VoteVets celebrated Rehmet’s victory in flipping the district blue in the special runoff election, noting that a Democrat had not been elected in decades.

Legacy media outlets and Rehmet’s Democratic supporters have portrayed the election as a massive political upset for Republicans.

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Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Despite the substantial funds the Democrats invested in the race, it seems these efforts were primarily for show, as the seat will be contested again in November 2026 for a full four-year term. Further, the Republicans in the Texas Senate hold a solid majority, and the legislature is not in session until January 2027.

The Texas Scorecard noted that the special election runoff saw low turnout, with just under 95,000 ballots cast, representing roughly 15% of all registered voters.

Rehmet and Wambsganss are expected to run against one another again in the November election.

Wambsganss called the January 31 election results “a wakeup call for Republicans in Tarrant County, Texas, and the nation.”

“The Democrats were energized. Too many Republicans stayed home. … Mr. Rehmet and I will face each other again in November, and I fully expect the results to be different,” she stated. “The dynamics of a Special Election are fundamentally different from a November General Election.”

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