State Rep. Jeff Leach held a lead of 203 votes out of nearly 85,000 cast early Wednesday in the race for the Texas House seat that covers Melissa.
Leach, a Republican, had 42,566 votes (50.12%) and Democrat Jordan Wheatley had 42,363 (49.88%), according to the county's unofficial summary report, which was generated at 1:02 a.m. and shows all 90 vote centers reporting. House District 67 is drawn entirely inside Collin County, according to the Texas House's district listing, so the county's count is the full districtwide tally.
A Census Bureau district lookup places Melissa, Anna and Princeton in District 67.
Where the margin came from
The race split sharply by how people voted. Wheatley led among early voters, 34,871 to 33,758, and among mail voters, 758 to 726. Leach made up the difference on Election Day, when he outpolled Wheatley 8,082 to 6,734.
About 2,744 voters who cast ballots in the district left the race blank, and 16 overvoted it, the report shows.
