Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in a special election runoff to fill the seat in Texas Senate District (SD) 9 after former state Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) left to become the acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Election Day is Saturday, January 31.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet garnered the most votes in November in the three-way race, but did not get a majority — leading to a runoff with Republican Leigh Wambsganss. Wambsganss battled another Republican, John Huffman, in the November race for the GOP voting base.
The seat leans Republican with a Texas Partisan Index score of R-60%.
Since late October, Wambsganss has raised $1.165 million in monetary and in-kind contributions, while Rehmet reported about $482,000 during the same time frame.
With Rehmet coming within a few percentage points of winning the race outright in November, Democrats are betting that they might be able to turn the tide in Texas, starting in Tarrant County.
After the November election outcome, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said that Texans had sent a strong message to President Donald Trump that Democrats will “make sure 2026 will be a total disaster for him.”
Republicans also consider it a critical election to “Keep Texas Red.” Wambganss has called SD 9 one of the most important districts in Texas, saying, “What happens here shapes our economy, our schools, and our communities. That’s why this election matters.”
Last week’s campaign finance reports showed the amounts raised between January 1 and January 26.
Wambsganss reported $365,389 in monetary contributions during that period. Texans for Lawsuit Reform and Texans United for a Conservative Majority each gave her $150,000.
Wambsganss also reported spending over $736,000 in political expenditures during the same period.
Other reports filed on January 26 showed that Wambsganss received over $272,000 of in-kind political contributions for advertising, phone banking, polling, and block walking from groups such as the Texas Senate Leadership Fund and the Republican State Leadership Committee.
A report filed on January 15 for Wambsganss’s fundraising between October 26 and December 31, 2025 revealed contributions of $527,620.
Rehmet reported raising about $222,000 in political contributions between January 1 and January 21. Over $160,000 of that was in-kind political contributions for items like rent, research, and advertising. The Texas Majority PAC — a group working to turn Texas blue — gave Rehmet $141,250 in in-kind contributions for get-out-the-vote efforts. On January 23, he reported another $100,000 in-kind contribution from the Texas Majority PAC for advertising.
VoteVets also announced it would spend $500,000 in the race to support Rehmet and try to turn the red district to a blue one.
Early voting ended on Tuesday, January 27, but not without interruption due to Winter Storm Fern wreaking havoc with icy and treacherous road conditions, causing polling place closures. Almost 44,000 votes have been cast in the election already.
The heaviest early voting turnout took place during the first three days of early voting before Winter Storm Fern hit. The most voters — 6,309 — voted at Keller Town Hall, but voters in Tarrant County can go to any voting location to cast their ballot.
Election Day is Saturday, January 31 and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A full list of voting locations can be found on the Tarrant County Elections department website.
