民主党候选人泰勒·雷姆特（Taylor Rehmet）在沃思堡地区的选区以14个百分点的优势击败共和党候选人利·万布甘斯（Leigh Wambsganss），而该选区已有40年未曾选出民主党人
作者：保罗·施泰因豪泽（Paul Steinhauser）
来源：福克斯新闻（Fox News）
发布时间：2026年2月3日 美国东部时间下午4:10
在得克萨斯州一个传统的共和党“红宝石”地区（深红州），共和党在投票中遭遇了令人震惊的挫折，一些人表示，这场失败是共和党在今年中期选举前的“警钟”——届时共和党需要捍卫其在国会的微弱多数席位。
上周末，在得克萨斯州沃思堡地区的特别州参议院选举中，特朗普总统在2024年以17个百分点的优势获胜的选区，共和党遭遇了两位数的惨败。这一结果正值人们对特朗普政府前所未有的打击非法移民政策产生强烈反弹之际，并且最新民调显示，总统及其所在政党的支持率已大幅落后于对手。
自特朗普重返白宫一年以来，民主党在一系列特别选举中屡获胜利或表现超出预期，这进一步增强了他们重新夺回众议院控制权、甚至可能掌控参议院的信心。
“这显然是给共和党敲响的警钟，”长期在得克萨斯州工作的共和党资深策略师布伦丹·施泰因豪泽（Brendan Steinhauser）告诉福克斯新闻数字版。
他警告称，周六特别选举中填补的、原本由共和党掌控的第9州参议院选区的结果“确实表明民主党士气高涨，而共和党选民 turnout 未达预期”。
“如果民主党能赢得这个席位，将使更多其他席位成为争夺焦点，”施泰因豪泽警告道。
然而，参与中期选举信息传递的共和党内部消息人士告诉福克斯新闻数字版，尽管他们并未忽视民主党胜选的事实，但目前尚无迹象表明共和党会大规模改变其竞选策略。
2025年震撼时刻：竞选路上最具冲击力的事件
在得克萨斯州，机械师兼空军老兵泰勒·雷姆特（Taylor Rehmet）在周六的决选中以约14个百分点的优势击败共和党候选人利·万布甘斯（Leigh Wambsganss）。值得注意的是，尽管共和党在竞选中大幅增加了对民主党的支出，并且得到了包括州长格雷格·雅培（Gov. Greg Abbott）在内的高层共和党人支持，以及特朗普在最后时刻的背书和社交媒体推动。
这是该席位（位于沃思堡北部，塔兰特县为中心）四十年以来首次由民主党人代表。
民主党全国委员会（DNC）称这是“冲击波式胜利”，并强调“自特朗普重新执政以来，民主党已翻转26个州立法席位，而共和党未翻转任何一个”。
特别选举结果往往被过度炒作，并不总是预示未来趋势的最佳指标。但无论如何，共和党人并未试图粉饰结果。
得克萨斯州副州长丹·帕特里克（Dan Patrick）称这次失败是“给全得克萨斯州共和党人的警钟。我们的选民不能想当然”。
佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯（Ron DeSantis）在X平台（原推特）上表示：“特别选举颇具特殊性，不一定能直接投射到普选结果。但无论如何，如此大的转变不容忽视。”
“共和党人在中期选举前应清醒认识政治环境，”德桑蒂斯强调。
RNC主席押注‘秘密武器’以打破中期选举历史规律，保护共和党多数
部分得益于他们在持续通胀背景下对“可负担性”问题的精准聚焦，民主党在2025年选举中取得了决定性胜利，并在特朗普第二任期开始后的其他非大选年和特别选举中也表现优于预期。然而，这些胜利和超预期表现中的一些案例出现在小型州立法选区，在低投票率情况下可能出现大幅波动。
但得克萨斯州第9州参议院选区的情况不同——该选区约有一百万人口，比典型国会选区（约80万人口）更具规模。
作为全国执政党，共和党在中期选举中面临传统政治逆风与不利环境。
最新福克斯新闻全国民调显示，超过半数（54%）受访者认为国家状况比特朗普上任时更糟，仅有31%认为更好。
仅30%的受访者认为经济状况“极好或良好”，特朗普整体支持率仍处于负区间（44%支持，56%反对）。
这一调查是最新一个对共和党不利的民调。
特朗普在打击通胀问题上的强调是其2024年赢得白宫和参议院、并守住众议院的关键因素之一。但在福克斯新闻民调中，特朗普在打击通胀问题上的支持率仅为35%。
边境安全和移民问题也是2024年特朗普和共和党获胜的关键议题。但随着联邦特工在明尼苏达州因抗议驱逐政策而射杀美国公民的两起致命事件曝光后，特朗普在移民问题上的支持率出现下滑。
在最新福克斯新闻民调中，特朗普在边境安全问题上的支持率为52%-47%，但在移民处理问题上的支持率降至45%-55%。
塔兰特县是得克萨斯州第三大人口县，近三分之一人口为西班牙裔。
特朗普在2024年重新赢得白宫时，曾在得克萨斯州及全国范围内获得西班牙裔选民的显著支持。
“我原本可能预期得克萨斯州西班牙裔选民对特朗普的支持会转化为对所有共和党人的支持。但事实可能并非如此，”施泰因豪泽指出。
他还暗示，“明尼苏达州的相关负面新闻尤其让西班牙裔得州选民感到担忧”。
资金激增：众议院共和党人打破筹款记录，全力捍卫微弱多数
展望11月的中期选举——民主党只需净增3个席位即可重新夺回众议院多数——民主党全国委员会主席肯·马丁（Ken Martin）表示，得克萨斯州特别选举的结果“证明没有任何共和党席位是安全的”。
两位资深共和党策略师告诉福克斯新闻数字版，共和党需要展示其政策成功以扭转中期选举的叙事。
Lance Trover指出，共和党通过了影响深远的“一揽子美好法案”（包含多项选民将于今年春天感受到的减税政策），“我们需要向选民宣传这些法案，并提醒他们，如果民主党执政，美国将迅速滑向社会主义”。
科林·里德（Colin Reed）强调：“如果经济在‘一揽子美好法案’的政策推动下开始蓬勃发展，共和党需要向美国民众强调，这是一个两党分歧的政策：共和党一致支持，民主党一致反对。这是共和党在中期选举中的关键赌注。”
回到得克萨斯州，帕特里克对中期选举持乐观态度
“我深知得克萨斯州共和党基层的能量和力量。我们将以新的决心奋力反击，并在11月夺回该席位，”副州长帕特里克预测道。
福克斯新闻的达娜·布兰顿（Dana Blanton）和维多利亚·巴拉拉（Victoria Balara）对此报道有贡献。
保罗·施泰因豪泽是新罕布什尔州摇摆州的政治记者，报道覆盖从东海岸到西海岸的竞选动态。
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388669662112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388686401112
Republican ‘wake-up call’: Special election shocker highlights GOP turnout and midterm risks
Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss by 14 points in Fort Worth area district that hasn’t elected a Democrat in 4 decades
By Paul Steinhauser
Fox News
Published February 3, 2026 4:10pm EST
A stunning setback for Republicans at the ballot box in a ruby red part of right-leaning Texas has some saying the defeat was a “wake-up call” for the GOP ahead of this year’s midterm elections, when the party is defending its narrow congressional majorities.
The double-digit shellacking, in a special state Senate election this past weekend in a Fort Worth area district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024, comes amid backlash over the Trump administration’s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration and, as the latest polling indicates, the president and his party are well underwater.
The Democrats’ victory, their latest win or over performance in a slew of special elections since Trump returned to power in the White House a year ago, is further energizing them as they work to win back control of the House and possibly the Senate.
“It’s clearly a wake-up call for Republicans,” longtime Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser told Fox News Digital.
AFFORDABILITY: THE ISSUE THAT BOOSTED TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS IN 2024 DEFLATED THEM IN 2025
Taylor Rehmet greets a supporter at his Senate District 9 runoff watch party at Nickel City in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.(Eleanor Dearman/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
And he warned that the results in Saturday’s special election to fill a vacant GOP-controlled seat in state Senate District 9 “does show that Democrats are energized and Republicans did not turn out in the numbers they should have.”
“If Democrats can win this seat, it puts a lot of other seats in play,” Steinhauser warned.
But Republican sources involved in midterm messaging tell Fox News Digital that while they’re not discounting the Democrats’ victories, there’s no talk right now of a wholesale revamping of the GOP’s playbook.
2025 SHOCKERS: THE BIGGEST MOMENTS THAT ROCKED THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
In Texas, Machinist and Air Force veteran Taylor Rehmet topped Republican Leigh Wambsganss by roughly 14 points in Saturday’s runoff election, despite Republicans dramatically outspending Democrats in the race, along with support from top Republicans including Gov. Greg Abbott and a last-minute endorsement and a social media push by Trump.
This is the first time the seat, in the northern part of Fort Worth anchored Tarrant County, has been represented by a Democrat in four decades.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) called it a “Shockwave Victory” and highlighted that “Democrats have now flipped 26 state legislative seats since Trump retook office, while Republicans have flipped zero.”
The results of special elections are often over-hyped and are not always the best indicator or barometer of things to come. But regardless, Republicans aren’t trying to sugarcoat the results.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the defeat “a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas. Our voters cannot take anything for granted.”
And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis noted on X, “Special elections are quirky and not necessarily projectable re: a general election. That said, a swing of this magnitude is not something that can be dismissed.”
“Republicans should be clear-eyed about the political environment heading into the midterms,” DeSantis emphasized.
RNC CHAIR BETS ON ‘SECRET WEAPON’ TO DEFY MIDTERM HISTORY, PROTECT GOP MAJORITIES
Thanks in part to their laser focus on the issue of affordability amid persistent inflation, Democrats scored decisive victories in the 2025 elections, and have overperformed at the ballot box in other off-year and special elections since the start of Trump’s second administration. But some of those victories and overperformances came in contests in small state legislative districts, where large swings can take place amid low voter turnout.
That wasn’t the case in Texas, where the 9th state Senate district is home to roughly one million people, more populous than the 800,000 people in a typical congressional district.
Republicans, as the party in power in the nation’s capital, are facing traditional political headwinds in the midterms and a rough climate.
More than half (54%) surveyed in the latest Fox News national poll said the nation was worse off than it was a year ago, when Trump took office, with only 31% saying the U.S. was in a better position.
Only 30% said the economy was in excellent or good shape, and Trump’s overall approval ratings remain in negative territory (44%-56%), according to the poll.
The survey was the latest national poll to spell trouble for the GOP.
Trump’s emphasis on inflation was a key factor in Republicans winning back the White House and Senate and holding on to the House in the 2024 elections. But Trump’s approval on combating inflation stood at just 35% in the Fox News survey.
Border security and immigration were also winning issues for Trump and the GOP in 2024. But in the wake of two fatal shootings by federal agents of U.S. citizens in Minnesota protesting against the administration’s aggressive deportation efforts, the president’s poll numbers on immigration have slipped.
While Trump’s approval ratings on border security stood at 52%-47% in the latest Fox News poll, he was at 45%-55% on how he was handling immigration.
Tarrant County is Texas’ third most populous, and nearly a third of its population is Hispanic.
Trump made major gains with Hispanic voters in Texas and across the county as he won back the White House in 2024.
“I think we might have expected that the support among Hispanic voters in Texas for Trump might translate to all Republicans. That may not be the case,” Steinhauser noted.
And he suggested that “some of the other imagery coming out of Minnesota is giving people pause, especially Hispanic Texans.”
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Looking ahead to November’s midterms, when the Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to recapture the House majority, DNC Chair Ken Martin said that the results in the Texas special election “prove that no Republican seat is safe.”
Two veteran Republican strategists told Fox News Digital Republicans need to showcase their successes to change the narrative heading into the midterms.
President Donald Trump signs sweeping spending and tax legislation, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” during a picnic with military families to mark Independence Day, at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2025.(Reuters/Ken Cedeno)
Pointing to the GOP’s sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which includes numerous tax cuts that many voters will feel this spring, Lance Trover said “Republicans have passed significant legislation. It’s on us to go out and sell it and remind voters that if Democrats have their way we are on a fast track to socialism.”
And Colin Reed emphasized that “if the economy starts booming on the backs of the One, Big Beautiful Bill’s provisions taking hold, the Republican Party need to remind America that this was a policy uniformly supported by one party and opposed by another. That’s the GOP’s big bet heading into the midterms.”
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And back in Texas, Patrick was optimistic as he looked head to the midterms.
“I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November,” the lieutenant governor predicted.
Fox News’ Dana Blanton and Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388669662112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388686401112
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