Based on unofficial results, Senate District 9 will be a runoff between Democrat Taylor Rehmet and Republican Leigh Wambsganss.
Rehmet got 56,506 votes, or 47.56%, falling short of the 50% needed to secure a win. His runoff opponent got 47,712 votes, or 35.59%.
The three-person race saw Republican candidates pick up 62,303 votes out of the 118,809 cast, but not enough to secure a win to replace Kelly Hancock.
Former Southlake Mayor John Huffman received 19,591 votes, or 16.49%.
Overall, 222,995 voters in Tarrant County cast a ballot, or 17.37%, according to the county election website.
Updated 1:03 a.m., Nov. 5
Tarrant County has posted its latest update and Taylor Rehmet still maintains his lead in the special election.
With more than 104,000 votes for the Senate District 9 seat, the Democrat has 46.33% of the vote, or 48,485.
He is up to nearly a 9% lead over Leigh Wambsganss, one of two Republicans running.
Wambsganss has received 38,791 votes, or 37.07%. John Huffman, another Republican, is third with 17,378 votes, or 16.61%.
There are 164 of 215 precincts reporting, according to the election website.
Updated 11:37 p.m., Nov. 4
With no candidate picking up more than 50% of the total vote, a runoff election is in the future for Democrat Taylor Rehmet and Republican Leigh Wambsganss for the Senate District 9 seat in Tarrant County.
The runoff election is scheduled for Dec. 13.
With more than a third of the precincts reporting, Rehmet had his largest lead of the night at more than 7% close to midnight.
However, his battle with Wambsganss is still too close to call a winner, with 68 of the 215 precincts in Tarrant County reporting for Senate District 9.
Rehmet has picked up 38,238 votes, or 45.77% and he has been the frontrunner since early voting results were announced at 7 p.m.
Wambsganss has 31,762 votes, or 38.02% of the vote, while John Huffman is in third with 13,539 votes, or 16.21%.
Updated 10:16 p.m., Nov. 4
More than 70,000 votes have been cast in the Senate District 9 race with 23 of 215 precincts reporting in Tarrant County.
The third update on Election Night shows that the Democrat Taylor Rehmet is still leading the race with 31,031 votes, or 44.09%.
Republican Leigh Wambsganss has picked up 28,025 votes, or 39.82%. That is a slight decrease from the 40.3% margin after the second update.
Without either having 50% of the vote, a Dec. 13 runoff would be held for this special election.
The winner will fill the spot vacated by current Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock.
Updated 9:35 p.m., Nov. 4
In the first update since early voting numbers were released, Democrat Taylor Rehmet is still leading in the Senate District 9 race.
Rehmet's new numbers moved slightly, at 29,312, or 44.2% of the vote. Leigh Wambsganss saw a slight increase in her percentage, with 40.3%, up from 40.1% at 7 p.m. The Southlake resident has 26,547 votes.
That is tracking toward a special election Dec. 13 between the Democrat and the Republican as neither is above the 50% threshold to win.
Former Southlake Mayor is in third place in the race with 10,457 votes, or 15.7%.
Posted 7:00 p.m., Nov. 4
Tarrant County released early voting totals for Senate District 9.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet holds a lead over Southlake residents Leigh Wambsganss and John Huffman, both Republicans.
What you need to know
Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and now an aircraft mechanic, received 28,742 or 44.12%, in early voting.
Wambsganss, the chief communications officer for Patriot Mobile, has garnered 26,167 votes, or 40.17%. Huffman, the former Southlake mayor, has 10,239 votes, or 15.72%
According to Tarrant County Elections' website, 114,130, for 8.89% of registered voters, took part in early voting.
The background
The special election was called to fill the spot vacated when Sen. Kelly Hancock resigned to take a position with the state comptroller’s office as acting comptroller.
The winner will serve the remainder of Hancock’s term, through the end of 2026. Hancock served as both a representative and senator since 2007, according to previous reporting.
What’s next?
Community Impact will update this article as more election day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
