The race for the Texas House seat that represents Melissa finished closer than election night suggested.
Collin County's final official summary report, generated Saturday afternoon, gives Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach 42,768 votes and Democrat Jordan Wheatley 42,640 in House District 67. That is a 128-vote margin, or 50.07% to 49.93%, out of 85,408 votes cast in the contest.
When the county posted its unofficial count early Nov. 4, Leach was ahead by 203 votes, 42,566 to 42,363.
District 67 lies entirely within Collin County, according to the Texas House, so the county's figures are the full districtwide result. Census Bureau district maps place Melissa, Anna and Princeton inside it.
Where the late ballots went
Votes added after election night favored Wheatley, mostly through mail ballots. The comparison between the two reports:
- Mail ballots: Wheatley rose from 758 to 967, Leach from 726 to 848.
- Early voting: Wheatley went from 34,871 to 34,916, Leach from 33,758 to 33,816.
- Election Day: Leach moved from 8,082 to 8,104, Wheatley from 6,734 to 6,757.
The final pattern matches the early one. Wheatley carried both early and mail voting, and Leach won the race on the strength of Election Day, where he outpolled Wheatley by 1,347 votes.
