The politically charged battle over whether to restrict abortions in Texas ended late Friday night when the state Senate passed legislation and sent it on to Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, for his signature. In the end, the fight underscored the challenges Democrats face as they look to break the Republicans' grip on the state.

Democrats haven't had a moment like this in Texas for years. The abortion clash provided a sudden jolt of energy to a beleaguered party and created a new star in Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis, whose 11-hour filibuster helped block the abortion bill last month and forced Perry to call another special session to deal with it again.

All that led to a predictable conclusion: victory for abortion opponents. Amid noisy demonstrations in and around the state Capitol in Austin by people on both sides, the bill was approved by wide margins on largely party-line votes in both the House and the Senate. Perry and Republican lawmakers simply ground down the Democratic opposition, as they have been doing in state elections for most of the past two decades.