Winter storm slows turnout in Fort Worth area state Senate runoff
Thousands of voters turned out early in the special election runoff for a Fort Worth area state Senate district, despite ice, snow and unusual timing.
The high-stakes election drew 43,970 voters to the polls during the in-person early voting period for Senate District 9, according to an unofficial tally from Tarrant County Election Administration. Voters were deciding between Democrat Taylor Rehmet and Republican Leigh Wambsganss, who advanced to a runoff after a November election.
Early voting ran from Jan. 21 through Tuesday. Election Day is Saturday, Jan. 31.
The winning candidate will fill the remainder of Kelly Hancock’s term, after he left the Legislature to run the Texas Comptroller’s office. The term ends in 2027, and both Rehmet and Wambsganss are running again in this year’s midterm election in hopes of serving a full four-year term.
After Rehmet came out as the top vote-getter in November, Democrats are looking to flip what has been a historically Republican seat.
Runoff elections, particularly those that fall in months when elections aren’t typically held — like January — aren’t known for high turnout, and this election is no exception, despite a promising first few days of early voting.
With winter weather looming, candidates urged voters to cast ballots sooner rather than later, and voters appear to have heeded that call. During the first three days of early voting, 35,426 people cast ballots, compared to 7,544 in the final three days, when most polls were closed because of the winter storm.
The number of voters in this second round of voting fell short of the first. In November, nearly 20,000 more people voted early in the Senate District 9 race.
Early Voting turnout was at about 7% of registered voters in this month’s special election runoff. Just under 9% of registered voters cast ballots in Tarrant County in November, when looking at all the races, not just the Senate election.
While turnout is low, it is higher than some of Texas’ recent special elections for Senate seats.
How does SD-9’s turnout compare?
It’s hard to compare the Senate District 9’s turnout to other elections. For one, it’s in January, which isn’t a month when elections are typically held. Fold in the weather-related poll closures and delays, and an apples-to-apples parallel becomes more elusive.
That said, here’s the turnout in some recent Senate special elections and special election runoffs, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. Keep in mind, this is overall turnout for both Election Day and early voting.
- May 2024 Special Election for Senate District 15 (Houston area): 3% turnout
- July 2020 Special Election for Senate District 14 (Austin area): 14% turnout
- Sept. 2020 Special Election for Senate District 30 (North Texas): 11% turnout
- Dec. 2020 Special Election Runoff for Senate District 30 (North Texas): 9% turnout
- July 2018 Special Election for Senate District 19 (Southeast Texas): 2%
- Sept. 2018 Special Election Runoff for Senate District 19 (Southeast Texas): 4%
- Dec. 2018 Special Election for Senate District 6 (Houston area): 1%
Most popular polling places
In Tarrant County, voters can cast their ballots at any polling location during early voting. Here are the sites that were most and least trafficked for this month’s special election runoff.
Busiest polling places:
- Keller Town Hall: 6,309 voters
- Summerglen Branch Library in Fort Worth: 4,241 voters
- Southlake Town Hall: 3,860 voters
- Gary Fickes Northeast Courthouse in Hurst: 3,770 voters
- North Richland Hills City Hall: 3,183 voters
Least busy polling places:
- Anna May Daulton Elementary School in Grand Prairie: 2 voters (Note: was primarily a city election voting site.)
- Asia Time Square in Grand Prairie: 14 voters (Note: Was primarily a city election voting site.)
- Grapevine Public Library: 183 voters
- Charles F. Griffin Building in Fort Worth: 209 voters
- Elzie Odom Athletic Center in Arlington: 489 voters
- Tarrant County Subcourthouse in Arlington: 581 voters
- Azle ISD PD in Azle: 774 voters
