Texas Senate District 9 is headed for a November rematch — and the contrast on the Second Amendment is getting harder to ignore.
Democrat State Sen. Taylor Rehmet, who flipped the longtime Republican district in a January special-election runoff, is once again facing Republican Leigh Wambsganss.
Now, campaign-finance records are putting another piece of Rehmet’s political network under the microscope: James Talarico gave $5,000 to Rehmet’s campaign in December 2025.
For Texas gun owners, that connection matters because Talarico has put an extensive gun-control agenda on the record.
And while Rehmet and Wambsganss prepare to face each other again in November, their records and commitments on the Second Amendment point in sharply different directions.
Talarico’s Gun-Control Agenda
Talarico has attempted to frame his gun policies as compatible with the Second Amendment, but his own campaign platform calls for radical anti-gun policies.
And as Texas Gun Rights previously reported, Talarico was asked in September whether an “assault weapons” ban remained on the table.
His answer: “Absolutely.”
Asked whether he could vote for an “assault weapons” or so-called “large-capacity” magazine ban depending on the legislation, Talarico also answered yes.
Those comments came as Talarico’s broader record of support for sweeping gun-control policies resurfaced, including universal gun registation, an “assault weapons” ban, a magazine ban, restrictions on large firearm purchases, and handgun-design standards he discussed in a 2020 interview.
That makes Talarico’s financial support for Rehmet particularly relevant to Second Amendment voters in Senate District 9.
This was more than a shared party label.
Talarico put $5,000 behind Rehmet’s campaign.
Wambsganss Put Her Commitment in Writing
The contrast with Leigh Wambsganss is straightforward.
Wambsganss returned the Texas Gun Rights Candidate Survey 100% pro-gun, pledging in writing to support the Second Amendment without compromise under TXGR’s candidate-survey standards.
That distinction matters.
Politicians routinely call themselves “pro-gun” during campaign season. The purpose of the Texas Gun Rights Candidate Survey is to move beyond campaign slogans and force candidates to put specific commitments on paper before they are in a position to cast votes.
Under TXGR’s survey standards, Wambsganss did exactly that.
She made a 100% pro-gun written commitment to Texas gun owners.
Rehmet has not made that same written commitment to Texas Gun Rights.
Instead, his political support includes Talarico — a politician who has publicly supported multiple new restrictions on firearms and has explicitly left an “assault weapons” ban on the table.
That leaves Senate District 9 gun owners with a documented contrast:
Wambsganss signed her name to TXGR’s no-compromise Second Amendment survey. Rehmet took $5,000 from James Talarico.
And Talarico’s gun-control agenda is not a matter of speculation. It is part of his own public record.
The November Rematch
Rehmet and Wambsganss have already faced each other once.
In January, Rehmet defeated Wambsganss 57% to 43% in the Senate District 9 special-election runoff, flipping a seat Republicans had held for decades.
Now they will face each other again in the November 3 election, with early voting beginning October 19.
Texas Gun Rights’ job is to make sure campaign branding does not erase the record.
Chip in today to help TXGR expand our candidate-survey and accountability programs, document politicians’ gun-policy commitments, and make sure Texas gun owners know the record before politicians head to Austin.
