Celia Israel
AUSTIN — Lesbian Realtor Celia Israel is leading after early voting results in the House District 50 race to replace Democrat Mark Strama.
Israel received 59 percent of the vote compared to Republican Mike VanDeWalle’s 41 percent, according to Travis County election results.
Turnout in the runoff Tuesday could be low because of winter weather conditions. While school district polling places were closed, any voter in the district could vote at the 28 open polling places, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
But the polls stayed open an extra hour, until 8 p.m., after Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir requested to keep the polling places open longer.
Strama, an LGBT ally, held the seat in Austin since 2005 before resigning from office last summer. The special election is to fill the remainder of his term.
Israel won 32 percent of the vote in November, compared to businesswoman Jade Chang Sheppard’s 16 percent and former Travis County Assistant District Attorney Rico Reyes’ 13 percent among Democrats. VanDeWalle, the only Republican who filed for the seat, brought in 39 percent of the vote.
Her lead in the special election had LGBT advocates expecting a win last week during early voting.
Israel has been endorsed by statewide LGBT advocacy group Equality Texas, as well as Washington D.C.-based Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a PAC that endorses LGBT candidates in races they have a good shot at winning.
If Israel wins, she’d be the second openly LGBT woman elected to Texas’ Legislature. State Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, was elected in 2012. And it’d be the first time in state history that the Legislature has two openly LGBT members.
