Democrat Jessica Farrar on Monday endorsed Penny Shaw in the race for her former seat, less than a week after Shaw’s primary opponent, Anna Eastman, won the special election to succeed Farrar.

Farrar retired from the Texas House last year, prompting a special election to decide who would finish her term through the end of 2020. Eastman and Shaw were among the 15 candidates to file for the election, which in November was narrowed to a two-person runoff between Eastman and Republican Luis LaRotta.

Eastman defeated LaRotta in the Jan. 28 runoff, but now faces four challengers in the March 3 Democratic primary, including Shaw.

Farrar’s endorsement marks the first time she publicly has weighed in on the race for House District 148, which covers parts of the Near Northside, the Heights and northwest Houston around U.S. 290.

In a statement, Farrar called Shaw “the candidate that will best represent the people of the district.” She also cited Shaw’s experience as an employment, family and business lawyer, which she said would make Shaw “a fierce advocate for the district.”

In a statement, Shaw said House District 148, where two-thirds of residents are Hispanic, was “established for Hispanic representation and now more than ever, diversity matters.”

Shaw, whose full name is Penny Morales Shaw, is Mexican and Irish American, while Eastman is white.

Eastman said she would have been “honored to have Rep. Farrar’s endorsement,” but contended that she had “united Democrats across the district” in her runoff win, when she secured 65 percent of the vote.

“I think it’s incredibly important to have diverse representation in all bodies of government,” Eastman said in an interview. “I also think I’ve proven that I’m a committed public servant to everyone in this district and our community.”

In the first round of the special election, Eastman led the field with 20 percent of the vote. Shaw received 8 percent, finishing sixth.

The other Democratic candidates in the March primary are Adrian P. Garcia, a community organizer who finished third in the November special election; Cynthia Reyes-Revilla, a real estate broker who ran unsuccessfully for the District H city council seat last year; and Emily Wolf, who describes herself as a “progressive candidate from Houston whose ideas include funding additional hunger and public housing programs through a small wealth tax and/or recreational marijuana tax.”

LaRotta is running unopposed in the Republican primary.

jasper.scherer@chron.com