Republicans gathered on February 1 at Mercy Culture Church for a “For Liberty and Justice” event, less than 24 hours after Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in the Texas Senate District 9 special runoff election.
According to unofficial results released by Tarrant County, Rehmet received 54,280 votes, or 57.21%, while Wambsganss received 40,600 votes, or 42.79%, The Dallas Express previously reported.
The special election was triggered by the resignation of former GOP Sen. Kelly Hancock, who left the chamber to assume the role of acting comptroller.
Wambsganss is unopposed in the March primary and is expected to face Rehmet again in November in a regularly scheduled general election.
State Rep. Nate Schatzline, who briefly entered the SD9 race in June 2025 before withdrawing when Wambsganss joined the contest and later endorsing her, opened Sunday’s event by directly addressing the loss.
“I know last night was not what we were looking for in the SD9 race,” Schatzline said. “We as Believers do not get to sit in doom and gloom. We have to rise up and fight starting tonight… We are always one election away from losing the freedoms that our forefathers fought for and founded our country on.”
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare attributed the outcome to turnout disparities, telling attendees that Republicans were outmatched at the ballot box. “We cannot afford to lose what is the most important county in the entire country. And last night, we got our butts kicked… We were complacent.”
O’Hare alleged that Democratic turnout significantly outpaced Republican turnout in the special election runoff. “Every Democrat in SD9 knew there was an election… 80 or 90%. The number of four Rs… maybe 40%. And 10, 15% of those voted for the Democrat,” he said.
O’Hare warned that additional Democratic resources could flow into Tarrant County ahead of November.
Wambsganss told supporters at her election night watch party that she intends to seek the seat again in November. The race she lost only fills the senate seat for what was left of Hancock’s term and, barring the Governor calling a special session of the legislature, will be served by the winner during a period when the senate is not voting on bills.
Leigh Wambsganss announces party shutting down. “We’ll be back in November.” pic.twitter.com/Ak11kOxSft
— Tony Ortiz (Current Revolt) (@CurrentRevolt) February 1, 2026
The Texas Senate is not currently expected to go back into session until 2027.
Other Republicans in attendance included Attorney General Ken Paxton and former State Senator Don Huffines. Paxton, who is challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the March Republican primary, spoke in broader statewide terms about the electoral stakes. “This guy [Cornyn] is running for a fifth term… He wants to be the first Texas senator serving for 30 years,” Paxton said of Cornyn.
“Texas deserves better… like we get from Ted Cruz,” Paxton added.
Paxton urged voter engagement, telling attendees, “Do not let Tarrant County fall. Do not let Texas fall. Do not let America fall… You just have to pray and act.”
Former state Sen. Don Huffines, who is running for Texas comptroller, also spoke about his campaign, describing the office as pivotal to fiscal oversight. He said that comptrollers oversee the state’s spending, and he committed his office to rooting out “fraud, waste, and abuse. We’re going to DOGE Texas.”
The February 1 gathering repeatedly framed the SD9 loss as a mobilization failure rather than a shift in district ideology, with speakers emphasizing door-knocking, primary turnout, and church-based voter engagement ahead of the November election.
Wambsganss has not publicly conceded the seat’s broader political future and is expected to face Rehmet again in what party leaders described as a high-stakes rematch in November, according to a previous report from The Dallas Express.
The district, which includes portions of Fort Worth and surrounding suburbs, was won by President Donald Trump by 17 points in 2024, according to publicly available election data.