They were separated by a difference of 202 votes in unofficial returns, which means the election is eligible for a recount if Keys Bess petitions for one.

The lawmaker has represented parts of central and southeast Houston in state House District 147 since 1991.

For House Democrats, the story of the second special session is much different from that of the first one. The excitement of leaving the state had worn off, the media spotlight had dimmed and the pressures to return home were mounting.

A rewrite of election laws in Texas is on the cusp of heading to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

The Texas Legislature has signed off on a sweeping GOP rewrite of election laws after months of protests by Democrats.

After a standoff that lasted more than a month, the Texas House appears to have enough state representatives in Austin to conduct business. The divisions are deep, relationships are frayed and redistricting lies ahead.

The return of three Democrats on Thursday allowed the House to reach a quorum, meaning enough members were present so lawmakers could work for the first time in nearly six weeks.

Democrat Reps. Garnet Coleman, Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez were the latest to rejoin the House on Thursday, narrowly clinching a quorum.

Houston state Rep. Garnet Coleman has been at the forefront of voting and social justice battles for decades and helped lead the 2003 flight of Democratic legislators to Oklahoma. Not being with his colleagues who went to Washington, D.C., has been agonizing, he says.

Here’s a list of the Texas Democrats who left the state in an effort to block GOP voting legislation.

Democratic lawmakers wanted to replace a defunded agency by creating a new office that would look at health inequities across the state. But after Republicans pulled it into ongoing debates about transgender rights and critical race theory, the bill died in the Senate.

But by the time the Legislature passed it, most of the sweeping provisions related to policing had been stripped out. Many provisions were removed from the bill after law enforcement opposition. Those measures stalled the bills progress because of opposition from law enforcement groups and lawmakers concerned about unfunded mandates. The version of the Sandra Bland Act signed into law by Gov. Abbott did not, however, mention any specific proposals, and has not addressed the policing aspects that faced harsh opposition by law enforcement and how, if at all, that will change in 2021.