A Texas political shock Republicans can’t ignore

By Bill King
Real Clear Wire

Until Saturday night, Texas Senate District 9 had been represented by a Republican for over 30 years. In 2022, Kelly Hancock won the seat by 20 points. Last November, Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in the district by 17 points. So when Hancock stepped down to accept the appointment as controller, Republicans had little reason think the seat would be in jeopardy.

But on Saturday, Democrat Taylor Rehmet trounced his Republican opponent by over 14 points – a 31-point swing since the 2024 election. The results have sent shock waves through the Texas Republican establishment.

Some Republican pundits have discounted the results because it was a special election with a very low turnout. It is certainly true that the turnout in Saturday’s election was much lower than last November (15% vs. 64%). But the results are consistent with polling over the last year, signaling that Texans have been turning increasingly negative on the Republican leadership of the state.

Over the last year, the University of Texas Polling Project has conducted seven polls asking voters whether they approved or disapproved of the job various state leaders were doing. Trump and all statewide Republican leaders began the year with positive approval ratings. By the end of the year, all were in negative territory. The average move downward was 24 points.

The crosstabs in the polls show that the groups who have turned most negative are independents, Latinos, and young people. Of course, there is considerable overlap between these because Latinos and young people eschew both parties at higher rates than other groups. Nonetheless, the moves within these groups in 2025 were breathtaking. For example, this was the drop in Trump’s approval rating with these groups last year:

But perhaps even more startling is that Trump’s approval rating with Republicans dropped by 17 points (88→71) – and this was before the debacle that has played out in Minnesota, or his threat to invade Greenland. One political operative I spoke with, who closely followed the Tarrant County race, estimated that 15-20% of Republicans voted for the Democratic candidate.

I think the poll’s questions on what issues Texas voters are most concerned about are telling. The issues garnering the most response were “political corruption/leadership” (18%), inflation (16%), and the economy (14%).  67% said they were very concerned about the cost of health care. Two-thirds of Texans believe that Trump’s tariffs are leading to higher prices. Texans also disapprove of state leaders’ handling of abortion (-17), regulation of marijuana/THC (-20), and public education (-23).  

Let me tell you what was not on the list at all: the danger that Sharia law would take over the state.

For the last two decades, Republican leaders have governed the state to satisfy their base – pandering to the issues important to those voters and ignoring what most Texans wanted. That was largely because independents, even though they frequently disagreed with the positions state leaders were taking, found Democratic candidates even further outside their comfort zone. But the Tarrant County results and the polling trends over the last year suggest Republican leaders may have gone so far that independents now view Democrats as the lesser of the two evils.

Bill King is a businessman and lawyer, and is a former opinion columnist and editorial board member at the Houston Chronicle. He has served in a number of appointed and elected positions, including mayor of his hometown. He writes on a wide range of public policy and political issues. Bill is the author of “Unapologetically Moderate.” 

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