Texas House 148 Special Runoff Election: Eastman Wins

Democrat Anna Eastman is the projected winner in the Texas State House 148 special runoff election held Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Voters residing in the district — located in the Houston area — cast their ballots Tuesday in the special runoff election to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Democrat.

Tuesday's special election was one of three taking place in Texas with other State House seats being decided in district 28 and district 100. District 28 was considered to be one that Democrats could flip in their quest to take the Texas State House in 2020. However, Republican Gary Gates prevailed in that race over his Democratic challenger Elizabeth "Eliz" Markowitz. In the Dallas-area district 100, Democrat Anna Eastman prevailed over John Armstrong III, also a Democrat.

The race went to a runoff after no candidate in a crowded Nov.5 general election won a clear majority. Unofficial final vote totals from the Harris County Clerk's Office show Eastman with 65.47 percent of the vote while her opponent, Republican Luis La Rotta, had 34.53 percent of the vote.

Just under 7,000 votes were cast in Tuesday's election.

Patch will update this story as the latest results come in from Tuesday's special election.

The winner of Tuesday's election will serve out the rest of Farrar's term in the State House.