Texas state Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat, defeated Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) in a runoff election Saturday to become the next mayor of Houston.
The Associated Press called the race in Whitmire’s favor at 7:23 p.m. local time, not even half an hour after the polls closed. Almost two-thirds of mail-in ballots and early votes were for Whitmire, the Texas Tribune reported.
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Whitmire is the Texas Senate’s most senior member, having represented Houston since 1983. At 74, he is set to replace Sylvester Turner, a term-limited Democrat.
Although both Whitmire and Jackson Lee are Democrats, the former garnered more moderate and conservative voters in the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States.
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Jackson Lee, who has represented Houston in the House since 1995, received endorsements from Turner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. However, she faced a slew of troubles heading into the runoff, including Whitmire’s aggressive spending in relation to hers and recent controversy surrounding her treatment of staff members.
Whitmire also received more votes than Jackson Lee in the Nov. 7 election, although neither candidate earned a majority, which forced the runoff election.
