Trump's USA The future of Republicans

"The loss is a wake-up call for us Republicans"

Despite having a significantly larger budget, receiving support from Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social and running in an electoral district that Republicans have controlled since the early 1990s, Texas Republican Leigh Wambsganss lost the local election to Democrat Taylor Rehmet by more than 14 percentage points. The Texas Tribune reports.

"This is a wake-up call for Republicans in Tarrant County, Texas and across the country," Wambsganss wrote in a statement after the loss.

The election was a by-election for the state Senate. Wambsgans and Rehmet will face off in a regular election again in November where a four-year term is up for grabs.

Since the 2024 presidential election, Democrats have won back more than 20 districts around the country, CNN reports. It could be an indication that Republicans are losing their foothold with Trump in the White House, which is bad news for the party ahead of the midterm elections later this year.

Texas Democrat wins election in deep Republican stronghold

Democrat Taylor Rehmet has won a local election in the otherwise heavily Republican Fort Worth district in Texas, American media reports.

The AP writes that the district has been controlled by Republicans for decades and that Trump won it by a 17 percentage point margin in the 2024 presidential election. The news agency describes the victory as the latest sign that Republicans are losing their foothold abroad with Trump in the White House.

- This is a warning signal to Republicans across the country, says Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Convention.

The election was for the Texas state senate and was held after Republican Kelly Hancock left her post. Veteran union leader Rehmet was pitted against conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss, who despite the president's direct support, was defeated by more than 14 percentage points.