2010: Neil Waiting For Final Vote Tally

Republican Dan Neil, who lost to Democratic Rep. Donna Howard in Tuesday's HD-48 election by a mere 15 votes, released a statement tonight saying he's going to wait for every legal vote to be "received and counted" before he decides his next course of action — namely, whether to ask for a recount.

"After campaigning for this seat for a full year, I want to ensure every legal vote is counted through a fair and transparent process," Neil said — including counting the votes of members of the military currently serving overseas. "Once that process has concluded, we will determine the appropriate course of action in order to ensure the will of the electorate is honored.”

Meanwhile, Howard sent out a statement of her own thanking voters for their "continued confidence" in her.

"Clearly this was a close election, with a highly polarized electorate," she said. "I realize there will be multiple interpretations of the message voters delivered in last night’s election, but I think one message is crystal clear: Voters are tired of partisan politics, and they expect Democrats and Republicans to come together to do what’s best for Texas."