Lorraine Birabil defeated James Armstrong III in Tuesday's special runoff election for Texas House District 100. Birabil won with about 66% of the vote.
The Dallas County seat was vacant after Eric Johnson was elected Dallas mayor and stepped down from the state legislature. Birabil will finish out Johnson's term, holding the office for less than a year before it’s time for another election. The District 100 seat will be back on the ballot again in November.
Turnout in the runoff election was low. About 3% of eligible voters cast ballots.
The district includes parts of West Dallas, Oak Cliff, South Dallas, Lakewood, East Dallas, Buckner Terrace and a small area of Mesquite.
In November's general election, Birabil led the pack with 33% of the vote, while Armstrong came in second with 21%. A candidate must receive 50% of votes to win a general election outright and avoid a runoff.
Birabil is an associate at Tillotson Law and is awaiting admission to the bar. She was previously the statewide outreach director for Beto O'Rourke's U.S. Senate campaign in 2018.
Armstrong is the president and CEO of Builders of Hope Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit that develops housing.
Both candidates are Democrats.
Syeda Hasan contributed to this report.
Updated 9:36 a.m.