An upset in Texas and a New Jersey primary

Early elections give Democrats an indication of which candidates can win.

Feb 02, 2026

∙ Paid

Taylor Rehmet, a Democrat and machinist union leader, won the Jan. 31 special election runoff for Senate District 9 in North Texas. He will face Republican Leigh Wambsganss again in November, when the two will vie for a full four-year term. — Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a long-held Republican seat in a Texas special election on Saturday. (Photo via the Texas Tribune)

In a major upset, Democrat Taylor Rehmet of Texas won a state legislative special election on Saturday with 57 percent of the vote, flipping a seat that had been held by Republicans for decades.

Rehmet, a union leader and Air F…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Slow Boring to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.