While Donald Trump’s approval ratings have taken a nosedive in the last few months Republican leadership, especially in the solidly red state of Texas, are seriously sweating over the result of a special election on January 31 for the state senate in a district that voted overwhelmingly for Trump and has not elected a Democrat for several decades.

Even more surprising, and upsetting to Republicans, is that Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet defeated his much better-funded Republican opponent, who ran with a personal endorsement from Trump, by almost the same margin that Trump received in the 2024 election.

Rehmet’s victory added to the Democrats’ record of overperforming in special elections so far this cycle, beginning in March — when they prevailed in a Pennsylvania legislative district made up of suburbanites and farmers that Democrats hadn’t held in a century — and continuing through to November, when they dominated candidate and ballot contests from Maine to California.

Like similar upset victories by Democrats against Republicans, the Democratic candidate was entirely focused on working class issues…

Taylor Rehmet spent his career fighting for better pay, safer workplaces, and a seat at the table for working Texans. He won election by leveraging his career as a working class machinist and President of the Texas state chapter of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to win the support of workers and middle class voters in a very red, Republican district.

As a union president and machinist, Rehmet believes the best way to raise wages, protect jobs, and ensure dignity on the job is through strong unions and worker power. He would lead efforts to repeal anti-union laws, expand collective bargaining, and bring good-paying, union jobs back to Texas communities. He also supports reclassifying gig workers to guarantee benefits and will fight for apprenticeship pipelines that create career paths for the next generation.

Affordable housing is a priority issue for middle and working class families. Rehmet supports statewide rent stabilization, tenant protections, and deep investment in public and nonprofit housing.

As a graduate of public schools Rehmet wants to reinvest in public education, expand high school vocational programs, and reverse the privatization of Texas schools by way of tax-payer dollars. He supports fully funding public schools and ending private school voucher schemes that drain them.

In recent years religious bigots and extremists have been taking over public school boards in the attempt to impose religious beliefs on students. Rehmet wants to protect public education from privatization, and keep extremist politics and religious ideology out of the classroom. He also supports teacher raises, mental health staff in every school, and strict oversight to prevent school boards from banning books or invading student privacy.

Texas is the largest state by land area in the continental US, and Rehmet says he’ll fight to stop the selloff of public lands to developers, safeguard water access, and invest in rural conservation jobs. He also believes environmental justice must include the people who live closest to the land, farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and Native American tribal authorities.

For years Republicans, especially in large states, have been trying to chisel away at voting rights for poor people and minority groups. Rehmet says he will fight to end racial and partisan gerrymandering by pushing for an independent redistricting commission and ensuring communities of color aren’t cracked or packed out of power. He also supports legislation that increases transparency in the redistricting process, creates enforceable protections for minority voting blocs, and strengthens the Voting Rights Act.

For progressives all over America, Rehmet’s victory is so much more significant than electing a progressive to office. Most importantly, Rehmet is not only a populist/progressive who won an election, but a populist progressive who won an election in a deeply red, Republican district that voted overwhelmingly for Trump.

Rehmet won because he emphasized issues that were important to working, middle class voters and offering solutions that were practical, realistic, pragmatic and politically achievable. With elections for Congress only a few months away, Rehmet’s victory is a roadmap for progressives to follow if they want to take back Congress and halt America’s descent into fascism.

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