What's at stake in the runoff election for an open Texas Senate seat in Tarrant County
Early voting begins later this week in the runoff election for the open State Senate District 9 seat in Tarrant County. It's a race that pits Republican Leigh Wambsganss against Democrat Taylor Rehmet.
Voting begins this Wednesday, Jan. 21, and runs through Tuesday, Jan. 27. Election Day is Saturday, Jan. 31. Runoff elections have historically attracted far fewer voters, and residents aren't accustomed to voting during the first month of the year.
In an interview with CBS News Texas, Wambsganss said her supporters are ready to go to the polls.
"We have an army of volunteers. Republicans are very energized, and I believe that they are finally realizing the threat to Tarrant County turning blue. All of those groups have been very active, but they're most active right now. They are really determined to take this seat," she said. "That's why we are working very, very hard. We have worked hard from day one, and we do have an army that realized the threat to Tarrant County. We've already walked over 10,000 doors, all volunteer, and we're not stopping until Election Day."
Rehmet told CBS News Texas that his supporters are also prepared for the election.
"I think they're very energized. With a campaign, you can't always measure the energy, but you can feel it. And we feel the energy for our campaign and this election. Every single day, we're seeing that Democrats and some folks from the Republican side are energized about getting something different out of their Senate district. It's about meeting people where they're at. That's our campaign strategy is talking with voters and listening to them instead of talking about them... Going out there block walking, talking with voters at their doors."
Wambsganss and Rehmet made it to the runoff on Election Day back in November, and Republican John Huffman finished in third. While the two Republicans, Huffman and Wambsganss, had more total votes than Rehmet, the Democrat, he had more votes than Huffman and Wambsganss combined on Election Day itself.
The district is in Tarrant County and includes Fort Worth, Keller, Southlake, Hurst, and other cities. While it is a Republican district, Wambsganss said they're not leaving anything to chance.
"We cannot ever take any race for granted. But the good thing about that race is it was really a primary race. We ran that as a primary because in this general election, it was two Republicans and one Democrat. So, the Republicans were really running against each other. I beat my opponent more than two to one, and now we're moving on to what is ostensibly a general election," said Wambsganss.
When asked if he were to win, Rehmet said, "This would mean something big, in my opinion. I know that there's so many folks out here that feel like they've been left behind... I think that whenever I'm elected, that they will feel like they have real representation. But the bigger thing is that it could be a domino that goes and shows other folks that, hey, you can grassroots, and organically run for office and get elected in this state."
Whoever wins will finish out the remaining term of former Republican State Senator Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills. He resigned last year and was appointed Acting Texas Comptroller by Governor Greg Abbott. The term ends at the end of this year.
Both will face each other again this November for the new term starting in January 2027.
Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30am Sunday on CBS News Texas on air and streaming
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