Republican Mayra Flores Becomes First Mexican-Born Woman Elected to Congress

Kipp JonesJun 14th, 2022, 11:15 pm
 

Mayra Flores

Republican Mayra Flores defeated Democrat Dan Sanchez Tuesday in the state’s special election to replace former Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX).

Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report called the race at 10:21 p.m. ET.

Vela retired in March after nine years representing the state’s 34th congressional district. He went to work for the lobbying firm Akin Gump.

Flores became the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress:

His vacancy set off a scramble to fill the seat, which has long been a Democratic Party stronghold.

The Texas Tribune reported,

The special election was unique in that it was held under the previous lines of the 34th District, which President Joe Biden won by only 4 percentage points. But redistricting made the district more friendly to Democrats in November, when the Democratic nominee is U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.

Republicans have been eager to flip the seat as part of their new offensive in South Texas after Biden’s underperformance throughout the predominantly Hispanic region in the 2020 election. Flores and her allies spent over $1 million on TV ads in the special election, while national Democrats largely stayed away, arguing it was not worth it to save a seat that will be up again in November — and under new, more favorable boundaries.

As Wasserman noted, Flores will face an uphill battle holding the seat under the newly-drawn map. Tuesday’s election was held in the old lines of Texas’ 34th district.

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