By Arlette Saenz, Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, Alison Main
3小时前
发布于2026年2月3日，美国东部时间凌晨5:00
德克萨斯州奥斯汀市，在州议会会议期间，美国国旗和德克萨斯州州旗在得克萨斯州议会大厦飘扬，议员们正在对多项法案进行投票，摄于2025年8月21日。
Sergio Flores/路透社
在深红州得克萨斯州的一次补选中民主党获胜，引发了国会山共和党人新一轮警告，他们称需要调整竞选信息并在中期选举前提高投票率。
“这应该是一个警告，我认为我们必须做出回应，”内布拉斯加州众议员唐·培根表示，他补充说唐纳德·特朗普总统在边境和通胀问题上获胜，”如果我们继续关注这些问题，我认为我们会好得多。”
距离11月选举还有九个月，共和党人对特朗普在2024年以17个百分点优势获胜的州参议院选区中出现两位数的民主党胜利感到焦虑，这种焦虑从得州蔓延至华盛顿。
“这应该是一个警钟，因为我认为大多数共和党人对特朗普政府的所作所为感到满意。他在共和党人中的支持率不错，但他们必须出来投票，我认为这将有助于改变选举环境，”俄克拉荷马州众议员汤姆·科尔表示。
“但毫无疑问，少数党在非大选年通常会赢，”科尔补充道。”共和党人应该明白，要保住多数席位需要付出非凡的努力。”
周六，民主党人泰勒·雷梅特在沃思堡地区的选区获胜，这是自特朗普第二任期开始以来该党一系列补选胜利中的最新一次。雷梅特是一名工会主席和退伍军人，以14个百分点的优势击败了特朗普支持的候选人利·万布斯甘斯——这代表着相对于特朗普2024年优势的约31个百分点的转变。
左图：2026年1月13日，得克萨斯州南湖，得州参议院第9选区共和党候选人利·万布斯甘斯。右图：2026年1月14日，得克萨斯州沃思堡，得州参议院第9选区民主党候选人泰勒·雷梅特在国际机械师和航空航天工人协会大楼。Desiree Rios/《纽约时报》/Redux
为何得克萨斯州参议院竞选的民主党意外胜利意义重大 5分钟阅读
“问题比他们想象的要严重，”雷梅特周一在接受CNN的艾琳·伯内特采访时谈到共和党人时表示，”因为劳动者被抛在后面，我们需要开始找到创造性的方法来降低成本，并在这个经济中帮助人们。”
对11月选举的影响
雷梅特的胜利促使共和党人重新评估该党的政治地位，他们正努力应对总统低支持率和历史趋势——通常不利于执政党。
“这不是偶然，这是个问题，”一位熟悉得州竞选情况的共和党策略师表示，”这种情况很少发生。”
“我没有具体研究得州的数据，但我的意思是，任何时候你在深红地区输掉选举，都会令人担忧，”前国家共和党参议院委员会主席、蒙大拿州参议员史蒂夫·戴恩斯表示。
这张来自KXAS视频的图片显示，2026年1月31日，当选州参议员泰勒·雷梅特（民主党）在得克萨斯州沃思堡发表讲话，他赢得了得克萨斯州参议院补选，翻转了一个可靠的共和党选区，该选区特朗普在2024年以17个百分点的优势获胜。
美联社
雷梅特表示，他的竞选团队还努力争取在总统大选中转向特朗普的拉丁裔选民。
“我们从一开始就与拉丁裔选民建立联系，”他说，称他试图接触一个”经常被忽视、肯定服务不足”的社区。
这场竞选发生在得州寒冷期的周末，投票率很低，许多共和党官员在评估结果时都指出了这一问题。
“显然这是个艰难的夜晚，这凸显了11月共和党投票率的必要性，”得州参议员泰德·克鲁兹表示。”我认为我们都在认真对待中期选举。”
在选举的最后阶段，总统试图动员基础选民，在社交媒体上发布了三次内容。但选举后，特朗普与共和党候选人划清界限。
“我没有参与其中，那是得州的地方选举，”周日当被问及该竞选时，特朗普告诉记者。
呼吁聚焦优势领域
但其他人警告称，这场竞选应该作为”警钟”，提醒总统及其政党在制定中期选举信息时。
“还有很多其他事情在发生，比如关税问题，选民压倒性支持对乌克兰提供援助，但他在这个问题上立场不明确，”不寻求连任的培根表示。”所以我认为总统和我们团队有很多领域需要加强。”
“我认为这是个异常现象，但我不认为这是可以忽视的问题，”得州众议员乔迪·阿林顿表示，他补充称尽管他认为共和党将有优势，包括资源方面，”但必须全力以赴”。
阿林顿说，共和党人需要解决医疗保健可负担性和打击欺诈等问题，以克服面临的一些障碍。
“我认为这是一个很好的提醒，告诉共和党人，历史上我们一直是在逆风前行，而不是顺风，因为当前的权力格局，这种情况一直存在，”他说。”我们唯一能克服它的方法是继续做总统当选并派来执行的使命和我们承诺的事情，不要松懈。”
共和党人还面临着充满活力的民主党选民基础。最近的一项CNN民意调查显示，尽管民主党选民普遍对党内领导人不满，但他们今年的投票积极性远高于共和党人。
周一，众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯在被问及得州参议院竞选时打趣说：”共和党人在得州搞砸了，他们知道这一点。”
杰弗里斯预测，尽管共和党人试图重新划分得州国会选区以增加五个席位，但”基于2024年的表现，他们将难以赢得三个席位，更不用说过去一年的情况了。”
寻求维持参议院多数席位的参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩淡化了民主党胜利的影响，但承认他的政党需要做更多工作来与选民建立联系。
“正如我之前所说，执政党在中期选举时通常面临逆风，”图恩表示。”但我认为有很多因素，这些竞选各有其独特的特点。”
“我认为，信息是，我们必须提高水平，确保我们尽一切努力，特别是让中间选民——那些决定这类选举的选民——有理由投票支持我们的候选人，”图恩补充道。”我相信我们会做到的。”
CNN的摩根·里默对此报道有贡献。
A Democrat flipped a state Senate seat in Texas. Republicans say it’s a ‘wake-up call’ for the midterms
By Arlette Saenz, Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, Alison Main
3 hr ago
PUBLISHED Feb 3, 2026, 5:00 AM ET
The US and Texas State flags fly at the Texas Capitol building during a session as lawmakers vote on various bills in Austin, Texas on Augusts 21, 2025.
Sergio Flores/Reuters
A Democratic win in a special election in solidly red Texas is sparking a new wave of warnings from Republicans on Capitol Hill about finetuning messaging and revving up turnout heading into the midterm elections.
“It should be a warning, and I think we’ve got to respond,” said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, adding President Donald Trump won on border and inflation issues and “if we were to focus on that and still focus on that, I think we’d be a lot better off.”
Nine months until the November elections, Republican angst over a double-digit Democratic victory in a state Senate district Trump won by 17 points in 2024 is settling in from Texas to the nation’s capital.
“It should be a wake-up call because I think most Republicans are satisfied with what the Trump administration has done. His numbers amongst Republicans are good, but they’re going to have to come out and vote and I think that’ll help change the election environment,” said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma.
“But hey, no doubt about it, minority parties win off-year elections most times,” Cole added. “Republicans ought to understand it’s going to take an exceptional effort to hold the majority.”
The win Saturday by Democrat Taylor Rehmet in the Fort Worth-area district is the latest in a string of special election triumphs by the party since the start of Trump’s second term. Rehmet, a union president and veteran, defeated Trump-endorsed candidate Leigh Wambsganss by 14 points – representing a roughly 31-point swing from Trump’s 2024 margin.
Left: Leigh Wambsganss, the Republican candidate for Texas Senate District 9, in Southlake, Texas, Jan. 13, 2026. Right: Taylor Rehmet, the Democratic candidate for Texas Senate District 9, at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers building in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 14, 2026. Desiree Rios/The New York Times/Redux Why Democrats’ upset in a Texas state Senate race is a big deal 5 min read
“The problem is bigger than they think it is,” Rehmet said of Republicans Monday during an appearance with CNN’s Erin Burnett. “Because working folks have been left behind, and we need to start finding creative ways to lower costs and help folks out in this economy.”
Implications for November
Rehmet’s victory has prompted Republicans to reassess the party’s political standing as they grapple with the president’s low approval ratings and historical trends that traditionally go against the party in the White House.
“That’s not an accident. That’s an issue,” one Republican strategist familiar with Texas races said. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
“I haven’t studied those Texas numbers specifically, but I mean, anytime that you lose a race in red areas, it would be concerning,” said Montana Sen. Steve Daines, a former chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
In this image taken from KXAS video, State Sen-elect Taylor Rehmet (D) speaks in Fort Worth, Texas on January 31, 2026, after winning a special election for the Texas state Senate and flipped a reliably Republican district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024.
AP
Rehmet said his campaign also worked to win back Latino voters who swung to Trump in the last presidential election.
“We showed up with Latino voters from the very beginning,” he said, saying he tried to reach out to a community “often overlooked, definitely underserved.”
The race played out as Republicans and Democrats in the state will hold Senate primaries next month, which will test the direction of each party in the conservative state. Republicans are engaged in a three-way primary between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. The Democratic primary features two rising stars in the party – Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico.
Amy O’Kruk, CNN CNN’s guide to the most important elections of 2026 9 min read
The special election contest, which was held on a weekend during a cold stretch in Texas, saw low turnout, an issue many Republicans officials pointed to as they took stock of the results.
“It was obviously a rough night, and it underscores the need for Republican turnout in November,” said Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. “I think we’re all taking the midterms seriously.”
In the final stretch of the election, the president sought to turn out base voters, posting three times on social media. But in the aftermath of the election, Trump distanced himself from the Republican contest.
“I’m not involved with that. That’s a local Texas race,” Trump told reporters Sunday when asked about the race.
Calls to focus on areas of strength
But others have warned the race should serve as “wake-up call” for the president and his party as they craft their messaging for the midterms.
“There’s all this other stuff going on, whether it’s tariffs, the voters are overwhelmingly for Ukraine, and he’s not been there on that. So I think there’s so many areas that the president and our team to be stronger on,” said Bacon, who is not seeking reelection.
“I think it’s an anomaly, but I don’t think it’s something that you want to brush off,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, adding that while he believes the GOP will have advantages, including resources, “you got to run through the tape.”
Arrington said Republicans need to address issues like health care affordability and cracking down on fraud in order to overcome some of the barriers they face.
Ira Dember, a frequent Houston protester, waves the American flag and holds a sign that reads ”Jesus never asked for a copay” at a demonstration outside of Texas Senator John Cornyn’s office in Houston, Texas, on December 30, 2025.
Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto/Getty Images
“I see this as a good reminder to Republicans that historically, we are fighting uphill, not downhill, because of the current power dynamic, and that happens all the time,” he said. “The only way we are going to overcome it is if we continue to do what the president was elected and sent here with a mandate to do and what we promised and not to take our foot off the pedal.”
Republicans also are contending with a deeply energized Democratic base. A recent CNN poll showed Democratic registered voters were far more motivated to vote this year than Republicans – despite widespread dissatisfaction with party leaders.
On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries quipped “the Republicans done effed up in Texas, and they know it,” when asked about the state Senate race.
Jeffries predicted that despite Republicans attempts to redraw Texas congressional maps in an effort to gain five more seats, “they’re going to struggle to win three based on 2024 performance, let alone what we’ve seen literally over the last year.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who is looking to maintain the GOP majority in the upper chamber, downplayed the Democratic win but acknowledged his party needs to do more to connect with voters.
“The party in power typically has headwinds they’re facing, as I’ve said before, going into midterm elections. But I think there are a lot of factors, and these races are all, have their own unique features and characteristics,” Thune said.
“I think the, you know, the message is, we gotta up our game and make sure that we’re doing everything to, to give people, particularly voters in the middle of the electorate who decide these types of elections, a reason to vote for our candidates,” Thune added. “And I believe we will do that.”
CNN’s Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
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