Greg Abbott sets special election 227 days after seat vacated

Abbott sets Jan. 31 special election runoff for North Texas Senate seat

by Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune
November 17, 2025

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday set Jan. 31 as the special election runoff date for Senate District 9 in North Texas, where voters will decide who will fill the seat vacated by Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock.

Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a union leader, machinist and Air Force veteran, and conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss will face each other in the January runoff after winning the most votes in the Nov. 4 election, with Rehmet nearly pulling off an outright win with 47.6% of the vote. Wambsganss won 36% of the vote, and former Republican Southlake Mayor John Huffman fell in last with 16%.

The Tarrant County-based district voted for President Donald Trump by more than 17 points last year, and the combined GOP tally outweighed Rehmet’s vote share earlier this month, making the seat likely to remain in Republican hands.

Still, Rehmet’s near-victory in the red district sparked Democratic hopes that a blue wave driven by turnout and backlash to the Trump administration could be bubbling ahead of the 2026 midterm election. Even if he loses in January, Democratic strategists said, Rehmet’s first-place finish in November gave the state party a desperately needed boost of energy, especially coming out of a highly competitive county that has become something of a political bellwether.

Wambsganss, who spent around $1.4 million on her campaign ahead of the Nov. 4 election, has since consolidated Republican support, rolling out new endorsements from Hancock, U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Irving and several state lawmakers. She was previously endorsed by Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — the president of the state Senate.

The winner of January’s runoff election will serve out the rest of Hancock’s term through the end of 2026. Wambsganss has indicated she also plans to run in the March primary for a full four-year term that would start in 2027.

Earlier Monday, Abbott also set Jan. 31 as the runoff election date for Texas’ 18th Congressional District based in Houston.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.