tie game (dems make gains in texas house)

Texas Democrats may have failed to elect any of their statewide slate yesterday, but they did make inroads in the Texas Legislature.

With most of the races completed, Democrats have picked up a net gain of three seats in the 150-member House. They flipped six seats that had been held by Republicans and lost three of their own seats. And there's an Irving seat where GOP incumbent Linda Harper-Brown has eeked by with a 25-vote margin (out of 40,700 votes cast), but there are still provisional ballots to count and a recount in the race is almost certain.

If the Democrats are able to flip Harper-Brown's seat in a recount, then the Texas House would be tied with 75 Republican members and 75 Democrats. That could mean that a speaker race which could end with a Democrat as Speaker of the Texas House.

As we head into redistricting, it's more important than ever to have Democrats in control of the state legislature. And it's looking more and more like a real possibility after yesterday.