January 29, 2020 1:58 PM ET Democrat Eliz Markowitz was heavily defeated Tuesday night in the nationally-followed special election runoff for Texas House District 28. The candidate was backing by failed Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke. Republican businessman Gary Gates won the state house race by 16 points, nearly doubling the GOP’s margin of victory during the 2018 election, according to The Houston Chronicle.