By Ethan Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — Democrats notched another victory Saturday in special elections during President Donald Trump’s second term, flipping a seat in the Texas Senate that Trump won by 17 points in 2024.

Taylor Rehmet, a union president and Air Force veteran, will defeat Trump-backed Leigh Wambsganss in a runoff for the Fort Worth-area 9th District, according to a CNN projection.

Rehmet won 48% in November’s first round against Wambsganss, a GOP activist and executive at conservative wireless provider Patriot Mobile, and one other Republican. His victory Saturday marks the latest success for Democrats ahead of this year’s midterms.

Trump had made a late push for Wambsganss, posting on social media in support of her campaign three times in the last two days of the race.

Democrats flipped more than 20 state legislative seats in special or regularly scheduled elections last year. Most recently, in December they won a Georgia district that Trump had carried by about 12 points.

The Texas seat has been vacant since last summer, when Republican Kelly Hancock resigned to become the state’s acting comptroller.

The-CNN-Wire
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