Washington (CNN) Democrat Elizabeth Markowitz is facing off on Tuesday against Republican Gary Gates in a Texas House runoff election that could provide a glimpse of the political environment in the state's suburbs.

Markowitz, an educator, and Gates, a businessman, are looking to fill the Texas House District 28 seat. Republican John Zerwas stepped down from the position in September to join the University of Texas System as executive vice chancellor for health affairs.

Markowitz won the most votes in the November 5, 2019 special election with 39.05%, and Gates won the second-largest amount with 28.46%. The state law requires a majority vote in order to avoid a runoff.

In 2016, Fort Bend County, which is home to the entire House district, voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton with 51.7% of the vote. The overall state of Texas voted for Trump with 52.5% of the vote.

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