Democrats in the United States are rejoicing over a Texas State Senate special election victory they say reflects growing discontent with President Donald Trump’s policies, months before the US midterm elections.Some commentators are describing the Democratic upset win in Texas as a “political earthquake”, but Trump has dismissed the contest as a “local” race.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listUnion leader Taylor Rehmet, a Democrat, defeated Trump-backed conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss in Saturday’s election, receiving 57 percent of the votes in a district that the US president won by 17 percentage points in November 2024.The vote will not have any immediate major consequences. Republicans – who have dominated Texas politics for years – still have a strong majority in the state’s senate.Still, Saturday’s contest could be an indicator of a broader voting trend in Texas and beyond, signalling a significant shift.“A huge political earthquake in Texas tonight as Democrats flipped a State Senate seat from red to blue in a district Trump won by 17 points,” Democratic strategist Matt McDermott wrote in a social media post.“Trump personally waded in — endorsing the Republican and personally urging base turnout — and was dealt a massive loss.”The election was held to fill the seat of a Republican state senator who had resigned to serve as Texas’s comptroller.Trump’s endorsementOn the morning of the election, Trump reiterated his endorsement of Wambsganss.“I am asking al …
