November 5, 2008 1:01 AM

WENDY DAVIS DEFEATS SEN. KIM BRIMER AS DEMS CONTINUE TO MAKE GAINS UNDER THE DOME

Democrats will have runoff opportunity to pick up a second Senate seat; Juan Garcia loses re-election bid despite spending $1 million to defend his seat.

As the clock strikes midnight on a historic Election Day, here are some of the biggest storylines coming out of the contests here in Texas:

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-- In the Texas Senate, Democrats have gained one seat and are in a runoff for a second seat. With all precincts now counted, former Fort Worth Councilwoman Wendy Davis has defeated Sen. Kim Brimer (R-Fort Worth) by nearly 7,000 seats for the SD 10 seat.

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Democrat Chris Bell, meanwhile, was the leading vote-getter in the SD 17 special election, garnering 38.4 percent of the vote with three precincts still outstanding. He will be joined by Republican Joan Huffman in a runoff. She finished second with 26.2 percent of the vote. Stalking horse candidate Stephanie Simmons came in third with 13.8 percent.

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-- According to the Secretary of State’s Web site, HD 105 Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving) has squeaked out a 25-vote victory over underfunded challenger Bob Romano. As we wrote earlier in the evening, provisional votes in this race will be closely scrutinized.