If you're white, running for public office in an overwhelmingly African-American area, you'll almost certainly face an uphill climb to victory.
Dave Wilson defeated 24-year incumbent Bruce Austin by only 26 votes to claim the win.
Wilson circulated campaign flyers featuring smiling African-American faces lifted from the Internet and accompanied by the text "Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson."
One campaign flyer said "Endorsed by Ron Wilson" -- an apparent nod to a popular black former state representative by that name. But the "Ron Wilson" referred to on the direct mail piece was Wilson's cousin, who just happens to share a name with the former lawmaker.
"He's a nice cousin," Wilson told KHOU. "We played baseball in high school together, and he's endorsed me."
His opponent denounced Wilson's tactics as "disgusting" and vowed to seek a recount. "He never put out to voters that he was white," Austin added in a statement. "The problem is his picture was not in the League of Voters pamphlet or anywhere."
Despite the razor-thin margin, some wondered whether the election results might have had more to do with the sorry state of Houston's community college system, which has recently come under fire for insider business deals.
"I suspect it's more than just race," says Bob Stein, a Rice University political scientist told KHOU.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57611671/white-candidate-wins-after-leading-tex-voters-to-think-hes-black/