Who is Texas Rep Mayra Flores?
CONGRESSIONAL candidate Mayra Flores won the special election in Southern Texas, making her the first Latina Republican to hold the seat.
Her election to Congress replaced Democrat Filemon Vela, who retired before the end of his term.
Who is Mayra Flores?
Mayra Flores has won the Republican Congressional seat in a special election to replace the former Democrat in an effort to flip the seat.
Flores was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States when she was six years old, and says it was done "legally."
She says on her website that she was raised "with strong conservative values and to always put God and family first."
Throughout her campaign, Flores used her background and her life with her husband who is a US Border Patrol Agent.
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She criticized Democrats for their lack of action, saying in a televised ad that the Rio Grande Valley is "under attack" at the Mexican border.
A respiratory-care health aide, Flores defeated her three oppositional candidates in a landslide victory, securing 51 percent of the votes.
Democrat Dan Sanchez came in second behind Flores with 43.3 percent of the votes.
After the results came in, Sanchez conceded and accused national Democrats of not doing enough to keep the seat from Republicans.
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They argued that given there will be another election in November 2022, the special election was not worth the investment.
“Based on the results, we came up short tonight despite being outspent by millions of dollars from out-of-state interests and the entire Republican machine,” Sanchez said during his concession statement.
He added, “Too many factors were against us, including little to no support from the National Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.”
Governor Greg Abbott praised Flores for her win, and in a tweet, he wrote, "Republican Mayra Flores just beat a Democrat to win an open seat for Congress in a historically Democrat district in South Texas.
"Congress just got more Republican. Texas just got more red. The future is looking bright red in Texas."
Who endorsed Mayra Flores?
Flores was endorsed by the Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi and Vice-Chair Cat Parks on June 14.
Speaking about his endorsement, Rinaldi said in a , “As we increasingly see the Rio Grande Valley swing to Republicans, Mayra is the kind of bold conservative leader we need to take back Congress from the radical left.
"I am proud to endorse her in the special election and look forward to sending her to Congress.”
Parks added, "I am proud to offer my endorsement to Mayra Flores, who will help us flip South Texas red and ensure Texas remains a model state for conservative principles.”
Billionaire Elon Musk announced he voted Republican for the first time when he voted to elect Flores for Congress.
He tweeted, “I voted for Mayra Flores – first time I ever voted Republican. Massive red wave in 2022."
Flores also received an endorsement from Abbott on April 8 and said in a that it was her "strong conservative values" and that she was "taught to put God and family first" that prompted his endorsement.
He added, “[Flores] has tirelessly worked building a strong relationship with her community and understands the needs of everyone within it.
"Mayra supports a secure border, the Second Amendment, and is pro-life. With her help, we will turn the Rio Grande Valley red."
Will Mayra Flores have to run again?
The Southern Texas congressional seat in the 34th district will open up again in November 2022, meaning Flores will once again have to run to hold on to her seat.
She will be running against Representative Vicente Gonzalez who is a favorite to win the congressional election and has been representing the neighboring 15th district since 2017.
If she does not claim victory, Flores will need to vacate the seat in January 2023.
The chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, claimed the Republican party used "the working-class Hispanic families of the Rio Grande Valley as pawns in their partisan culture wars.
"In January 2023, this seat will rightfully return to Democratic hands."
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However, Flores said at a campaign in early 2022 that Republicans are taking back Congress, starting with the special election.
“We’ve been voting California values, Austin values, but not South Texas values,” she said, adding, “This is our country.”