Republican Pete Flores, center, stands with his daughter Vicky, left, and state Sen. Donna Campbell, right, as he talks to supports after he defeated Democrat Pete Gallego in a runoff election capturing a reliably blue state Senate seat, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2018, in San Antonio. Flores will replace Sen. Carlos Uresti, who stepped down in […]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Republican Pete Flores has upset Democrat Pete Gallego in a runoff, capturing a reliably blue state Senate seat vacated by a former lawmaker sentenced to 12 years in prison on federal fraud charges.

San Antonio Democratic Sen. Carlos Uresti resigned in June after being convicted of helping an oilfield service company he co-owned run a Ponzi scheme. His term expires in 2020, and the district stretches from Democrat-heavy San Antonio to the Big Bend.

Gallego, a former congressman and state representative, and Flores, an ex-game warden who lost to Uresti in 2016, advanced to the runoff after none of the eight candidates won a majority of the votes cast during July’s opening round of balloting.

Flores victory extends the Republican majority in the Texas Senate to 21-10.