Texas Union Win: Union Leader Taylor Rehmet Elected to Texas Senate

FORT WORTH, Texas – Today, the Texas AFL-CIO releases the following statement on union leader Taylor Rehmet’s historic election to Texas Senate District 9. With 95% of precincts reporting, Rehmet has earned 57.2% of the vote.

Rehmet, a veteran and the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Texas State Council, was born and raised in Garland, Texas. His passion for fairness and dignity on the job led him to union organizing, where he was elected president of both his local and state chapters of the IAM. As a graduate of the Texas AFL-CIO’s Ruth Ellinger Leadership Academy, he’s committed to taking the fight for working Texans to the State Capitol.

“This is a huge win for Texas workers. Taylor embodies what it means to be a union leader — working together to address the struggles of real, everyday Texans,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar. “While state parties are trying to reconnect with the working class, we’re running union members up and down the ballot — and winning. Taylor’s historic win kicks off a slate of rank-and-file union members running for office to fight for all of us.”

Just this week, the Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE) Board, made up of delegates from across the state, announced their 2026 primary endorsements. It includes 15 endorsed union members running for state-level positions, who were union members before they were candidates:

Lieutenant Governor: Marcos Vélez (D)
Assistant Director of United Steelworkers (USW) District 13
Commissioner of General Land Office: Jose Loya (D)
Staff representative for United Steelworkers (USW) District 13, Veterans of Steel Coordinator
Texas Supreme Court, Place 1: Maggie Ellis (D)
Member of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 1624 and Texas State Employees Union (TSEU-CWA 6186)
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9: Holly Taylor (D)
Member of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Texas Retiree Chapter 12
U.S. House, District 19 (Lubbock): Kyle Rable (D)
Member of Texas State Employees Union (TSEU-CWA 6186)
U.S. House, District 27 (Victoria): Tanya Lloyd (D)
Member of Texas American Federation of Teachers (Texas AFT)
Texas Senate, District 9 (Fort Worth): Taylor Rehmet (D)
President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Texas State Council
Texas House, District 28 (Richmond): Sandy Ibanez (D)
Member of Fort Bend American Federation of Teachers (AFT Local 6198)
Texas House, District 47 (Austin): Pooja Sethi (D)
Member of Texas State Employees Union (TSEU-CWA 6186)
Texas House, District 49 (Austin): Montserrat Garibay (D)
Former Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer; Member of Education Austin (AFT Local 2048)
Texas House, District 50 (Austin): Jeremy Hendricks (D)
Assistant Business Manager, Southwest Laborers District Council (SWLDC), Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA)
Texas House, District 120 (San Antonio): Jordan Brown (D)
Member of Northside American Federation of Teachers (AFT Local 3216)
Texas House, District 125 (San Antonio): Adrian Reyna (D)
Member of San Antonio Alliance (AFT Local 67)
Texas House, District 142 (Houston): Danyahel (Danny) Norris (D)
Member of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) HOPE 123
Texas House, District 146 (Houston): Lauren Ashley Simmons (D),incumbent
Member of Texas State Employees Union (TSEU-CWA 6186) & Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1180

View the full slate of Texas AFL-CIO COPE endorsements here. Local race endorsements and union affiliations will be announced at a later date.

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The Texas AFL-CIO is the state labor federation consisting of more than 250,000 affiliated union members and advocates for working people in Texas. Learn more at texasaflcio.org