GullahGullahIslander
31140
1159
9
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/01/democrat-wins-red-texas-district-taylor-rehmet
Feb 1, 2026 3:34 PM
GullahGullahIslander
31140
1159
9
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/01/democrat-wins-red-texas-district-taylor-rehmet
AdroitCudgel
cue the massive clamoring of fraud, cheating, and other things Republicans will accuse democrats of doing...UNLESS he is shill of Republican party
PacManDreaming
I got out to vote, for him, before our big ice storm hit, last week. So glad to see that he won! I was watching the election results, late last night, and it felt good to see that he has a pretty good lead on the Trumper, when I finally fell asleep around 1 am.
CaptainSkyhawk
Amazingly, MAGA needed to do more than get support statements from everyone we hate while strutting around, gabbling about faith and getting rid of brown people.
irmonkey
Comparing anything to an election where Elon Musk had his thumb on the scale isn't really a comparison. What were the results in that county before Elon meddled?
sobeman
Is he actually a Democrat or will he also suffer traumatic head trauma and wake up a MAGA
Nonada
I hope we see progressive Dems beating corporate Dems at the same rates we've been seeing Dems beat Reps. Especially since Dem leadership has been literally less than worthless since the second Trump regime started.
huffnpuff72
A sign that they are going go extra hard on voters suppression and outright cheating results.
hogeyegrex
A 31 point swing. Damn. The midterms are going to be a bloodbath. With that kind of movement, the Senate really might be in play.
There was a poll recently that showed approval of MAGA at 24%. That’s where they are. Yet somehow they’re running the country in a purported democracy.
Poll:
https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econTabReport_8FWGyNz.pdf
Also in poll: Trump approval underwater with men and white people. If they keep this up, they really will go the way of the Whigs.
hotaru251
your Reminder that TExas isn't really as red as they try to make it seem its only due to districting that it LOOKS red but is technically more blue than red as land doesn't vote.
madmax17
Flawless victory.
5m4llP0X
Awesome, now let's hope he doesn't go Fetterman, Sinema, or Manchin.
EveryGOPAccusationIsActuallyAnAdmission
This is a start. We need to move the window back to the left. Get the republikkkans out of power, preferably by burying them. Then, we need to get the right wing Dems out too before we can start to breath more easily.
PorterPickUp
Might be a preview of the upcoming mid-terms. We'll see.
Darklinkinfinite
It’d be hilarious if Trump’s redistricting scheme ended up backfiring and loses him more seats
Guidocat
How about we shut up about the "warning sign to Republicans" and just quietly have democrats win all the elections. Warning republicans to try to mitigate these losses is a bad thing.
Zixtank
Of what can be undone
morningxafter
Democrat leadership needs to look at his campaign and learn from his success. What was his messaging? How did he effectively push it through all the lies and disinformation and other noise?
mem5000
I drove through the ice to vote for him! 100% worth it!
mem5000
I realize driving through ice for most people isn't a big deal... but for us in Texas... we see it so rarely, we treat it like Armageddon.
ItsACrazyWorld
Where were you assholes in 2024? Fuck off.
unluckyandbored
Don't count your chickens. Don't get complacent.
EroticZombiePants
While cool, remember what happened the last time the Democratic Party gained momentum. They promptly steered themselves right into a brick wall.
rainman214
Since they have to have another election, and they are not in session until after the next election, he has to win again before he ever gets to cast a vote.
TheCANADIANmadhatter
TEXAS!?!? Good job! Now keep it going!
carmexcoveredlips
https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1MTR3YzlsMXE3eHQydmJyM2hvdXc1d3c1Zm85YjN3dXhsaGVzZ28yYiZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/7z4C3aQOd7UsVjtQzj/200w.webp
Affray
Ircy
May Republicans never recover.
measuredby5
Because normal people are SICK OF THE BULLSHITH
JarJarDrinks
Tarrant Couny (Ft Worth) has a kick-ass Democratic Party, it is poised for greatness.
dumberthanyouraveragebear
Wouldn’t it be something if this kid ran for president. Republicans hegemony taken down by a Texan Democrat!
CarbonsRelevant
I live in fort worth and have been disappointed time and time again. Can’t say my hopes were high on this one but what a freaking relief it is. Hoping we can build on this
Timesarrows
what's missing in corporate media is TX (all gop governor/state legislator states) have been engaging in criminal voter suppression for 20 years, to eliminate Dem votes. if ever reported it's only in local news. last 20 years each session the GOP states pass new voter suppression actions. corporations move to the corrupt GOP states to avoid criminal prosecutions and penalties for harming citizens. https://www.aclutx.org/news/5-ways-texas-suppresses-vote-and-how-make-your-vote-count/
cytherians
THIS! Right here.
I've heard this before as well, that Democrats have a voter population large enough to have a much larger presence in Texas, but the gerrymandering has been so extensive as to lock them out. It's partly why popular Beto O'Rourke couldn't unseat Cruz or Abbott.
Timesarrows
gerrymandering is different than voters suppression but both r clearly documented to stop blacks, browns, people working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet... yet we see black/brown stars publicly supporting gop/trump doing this. i read reports in 2012ish, it's back before 2000 tx/gop states cheating, corporate media doesn't cover it. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/texas-voter-discrimination-legacy
Timesarrows
from 2004 to 2016 i read factual news from local TX news that gop TX was closing polls ONLY in working class Dem areas. u can't even find that factual news searching anymore. but gop/TX (all GOP states) did it again in 2020. TX/GOP states r filthy criminal corrupt and any "personality" that supports TX/gop r criminals. i don't purchase anything from gop states, never visit, never view incluencers bases in tx. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/02/texas-polling-sites-closures-voting
Timesarrows
it's works - the new round of TX gop criminal election fraud works. the data is fact. when GOP reject a primary ballots (example 1 million citizens) then 16%, 160,000 of them don't vote in general election. the fascist/gop corporate media doesn't report this. scroll down to text above the chart https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/study-reveals-lasting-voter-suppression-effects-restrictive-texas-law
meganical
Ah yes, red states: willing to vote Democrat ONLY when the candidate is a white man
StellarJay77
Unfortunately racism and misogyny hasn't gone anywhere in America, it just went behind closed doors and into anonymity until it became okay to be overt about it again by the tacit approval of the alt-right cult leader sitting in the office of the president.
bashbrisecul
Baby steps
Better than nothing
Small step in the right direction
Let's go optimism
Ok I'm done
SGAtlantis
I thought Jasmine Crockett was from Texas?
Lovingimpaler
Yeah watch out for this one, she is a force to be reckoned with!
maincarrot
Pride is a helluva drug.
TheLastLuddite
It hurts to say, but that's something the Democratic Party should take to heart for just one election cycle. Run rednecks candidates in red states that Republicans can't cancel out with meme attacks. (Would be even be in this mess with a Walz/Harris ticket?)
Elkarlo77
The Israel Palastine War got you in the Mess. And the massive disinformation attack. Republicans knew that they could only win if the turnup was low. So the "Biden gives Israel Bombs" message got Voters home. When Biden followed the law (something someone does not) and blocked the most severe Bombs Mike Johnson was providing with a poisoned bill for Ukraine. On January 21st 2025 Trump gave Israel the 2000lbs and above blockbusters Biden withheld. So much for: "Dems are giving Israel bombs."
LostCaterpillar
Most candidates are from the area they run in and skew heavily towards whoever has the power in any given region. That is to say, they're already running white folks in districts only white folks can win.
As for a hypothetical Walz/Harris ticket, he might have done slightly better but to get that nomination he'd have had to agree to the same anti-labor, pro genocide positions Harris took and he'd still have lost.
The ONLY reason Biden won in 2020 is because of COVID.
EroticZombiePants
This is it. Trump would have beaten Biden if COVID never happened. While crap in his first term, he didn't really derail the country until he dismissed COVID.
Regeny
Wambsganss. I know, nobody can do anything about their name, but how the hell did that one come to be?
Regeny
ElroydIsGone
Not 100% sure about the belly, tbh, because I never heard of Wambs in that meaning in German. In dialects "Wampe" or "Wanst" for fat belly is still very much in use, and there's a bit outdated word "Wams" for doublet jacket, which I had rather guessed, but "jacket goose" isn't really explaining very much anything either, unless you mean Gus Goose... ;-)
BlindGardener
It could also mean “goose down jacket” in which case his family might have once been tailors who specialized in winter clothing, or his ultra-great-grandpa might have owned such a splendiferous jacket that the family got named after it.
mrbadxampl
guy named Wambsganss made the only unassisted triple play in World Series history back in 1920
Jellybelly88
Whoa black betty.....
cytherians
Succession! Frankly, I thought it was a made-up name. 🤪😄🤣
CaptainRedbeardButOnlyTheBeard
Came to the comments for this reference.
ICantPeelMyFaceWhenImWithYou
Trivia: In Succesion, Matthew Macfadyen played the part of Tom Wambsgans.
LifeWouldBeEasyIfIWereEasyButLifeIsHardAndSoAmI
Everyone starts as an anus in the womb. Not everyone chooses to stay an anus after being born
ParrotHat
Wabbajack
CaptGunpowder
Wamp-wamp
NoUseYourName9000
What it do, what it do
Jellybelly88
Whoa black Betty ...
DeadWhiteMale
It looks like this is the first Wambsganss in the US, lots of descendants:
Rev. Johannes Philipp Wambsganss
BIRTH 12/21/1823 • Nußdorf, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
DEATH 10/01/1901 • Union, Adams, Indiana
zackingsman
Drunk rich people. That's how I figure most of the January 6th crowd got their names. They have some weird, weird, weird names
11Weasel11
I know a dude with last name Bobo. From West Texas originally. Poppa was a precher.
zackingsman
Son of a preacher mane
BlindGardener
It’s german, means “Fat goose” or “Silly goose” or “Fatty goose” depending on how literally you translate it.
His family were probably goose farmers that specialized in fois gras.
HFlashman
This is just not true. A „wams“ is a sort of undergarment, worn under armour. More colloquially it is a big belly. And „Gans“ is a goose. So more like goosebelly, if you change the order.
BlindGardener
You’re probably better at german than I am, so I’ll take your word for it. Mostly I speak French and English.
HFlashman
Yes. Although I do speak English and French as well, I had a couplenof semesters of German Linguistics.
BlindGardener
My german is mostly indirect: My father was very fluent in german and tried to teach me when I was young, but I didn’t pick it up any better than mom’s dad’s attempt to teach me Hungarian nor my ‘aunt’ (dad’s best friend) ‘s attempts to teach me polish.
Which is to say my vocabulary significantly outpaces my grammar.
Fortunately my wife’s native language, mandarin, has very simple grammar, so my ability to pick up vocabulary has been useful in learning it.
BlindGardener
Anyway, French and English are the only languages I dream in, so they are the ones I consider myself to be fluent in.