Most of the Texas House's closest races had not been called early Wednesday, and Democrats could take control of the lower chamber for the first time since 2003. The possible gain follows the party's sweep at the statewide level.
Democrats need to flip 14 seats to win the House. The Associated Press had called six flips in their favor as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, but Democrats were leading in at least 12 more districts that Republicans now hold.
House Democrats' caucus chair, Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, predicted in September that his party would flip the House. State Rep. Christina Morales, who chairs the party's campaign arm, had called five to eight flips a "conservative estimate" last month. After midnight, she said flipping the House "has been our goal from the very beginning" and said Democrats were "cautiously optimistic."
GOP data consultant Ross Hunt said Republicans were likely to lose control. "We don't yet have a complete picture of the scope of Republican losses in the state House and statewide," Hunt said. Election Day votes, where Republicans typically outpace Democrats, would not be enough to reverse the races where Republicans were behind, according to the report.