Republicans hold HD105

The 29-vote lead that Rep. Linda Harper-Brown had in her re-election effort in Irving's HD105 got a little smaller but did not go away.

Republicans held their one-seat advantage in the Texas House late Monday as incumbent Linda Harper-Brown maintained a victory in the tight District 105 race.

However, her already small lead shrank from 34 to 20 votes after a Dallas County ballot board accepted 61 provisional ballots, amid Republican allegations of impropriety.

Her narrow victory could lead to a recount that might have implications for embattled House Speaker Tom Craddick.

But it was unclear whether Democratic challenger Bob Romano would request a recount. He could not be reached for comment late Monday.

"I think it's such a small number that you certainly need to consider the possibility of a recount," said Darlene Ewing, chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party.

Hard to imagine not having a recount in a race with such a narrow margin of victory. Human beings do make mistakes, and it wouldn't take much of one to have a big effect. The odds are, however, that what we see is what we'll get. That's a boost for Tom Craddick's efforts to hold onto the Speakership, as Harper Brown is one of his key supporters. BOR was first to report this.

By the way, if your first reaction to reading the above is "Irving? Since when is Irving nearly electing Democrats?", you should know that Irving isn't what it used to be. Actually, there's a lot of that all across the state, including right here in Harris County. About damn time, too.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on November 11, 2008 to Election 2008