A special election in Texas that had been viewed by some high-profile Democrats as key to beating President Donald Trump in Texas ended in a big win for the GOP.
Gary Gates, the Republican candidate Texas House District 28, soundly defeated his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Markowitz in a nationally targeted special election on Wednesday, ABC affiliate KTRK reported.
In a feature piece published last week, the Texas Tribune suggested Democrats had “gone all in” on winning the special election for Fort Bend County.
Three presidential candidates, including Texas Democrat and former 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, lent their support to Markowitz ahead of the vote.
O’Rourke in particular stressed the election’s importance to winning the state house and building a “team to defeat Trump in Texas.”
“The first critical election of 2020 is happening now in Fort Bend, TX,” O’Rourke tweeted on Friday.
The first critical election of 2020 is happening now in Fort Bend, TX. Victory for Eliz Markowitz means we can win the state house and build the team to defeat Trump in Texas. Join us to knock on doors this last weekend before Election Day. https://t.co/jRr8swVw1S
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) January 24, 2020
Ultimately, the national Democrats’ efforts would be mostly in vain.
When the votes were tallied Gates had trounced Markowitz by 16 points, winning 58 percent of the vote. Markowitz only captured 41 percent of voters.