Republican Mayra Flores Flips Texas’s Blue Seat in Special Election

Republican House candidate Mayra Flores fliped Texas’s historically Democrat-held Thirty-fourth Congressional District to red in Tuesday night's special election.

Republican House candidate Mayra Flores fliped Texas’s historically Democrat-held thirty-fourth Congressional District to red in Tuesday night’s special election.

The race was called for Flores by David Wasserman of Cook Political Report at 10:21 p.m. ET:

I’ve seen enough: Mayra Flores (R) defeats Dan Sanchez (D) in the #TX34 special election, flipping an 84% Hispanic Rio Grande Valley seat red.

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) June 15, 2022

Texas’s historically Democrat-held thirty-fourth Congressional District went into a special election to fill what is remaining in the two-year term after the previous lawmaker bailed on the district to work for lobbyist firm Akin Gump.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) then called a special election to fill the seat under the current congressional lines. However, Flores is running in November against Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), who switched districts — abandoning his old one to run in the thirty-fourth instead — for a full term under the new congressional lines.

With Flores receiving more than 50 percent of the vote, she has won the seat outright and has avoided a runoff with the two Democrats — Dan Sanchez and Rene Coronado — along with the other Republican, Juana Cantu-Cabrera.

Flores winning the special election means she will also have the power of incumbency in a district that will be decidedly more Democrat-friendly in November. However, it could also set the tone for GOP gains with Hispanic voters along the border.

Breitbart News previously wrote:

In recent years, the Hispanic community has been slowly moving toward the Republican party as everyday voters — especially Hispanic voters — have become increasingly frustrated with one-party, Democrat rule in Washington, DC. With the Special Election coming up, a Republican organization is trying to take advantage of these gains — especially in South Texas — by dumping money and resources into these communities to get them out to vote.

Politiconoted that a Republican victory in the special election would further reduce “Pelosi’s already minuscule majority and send a jolt of momentum through theGOP’s bid to turn the entire Rio Grande Valley red in the midterms.”

…

With the special election closing in, national Democrats are faced with a choice between cutting their losses or pouring more money into the district. The special election will have a runoff if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has already congratulated Flores on her victory, adding another Republican to the ranks in the House. He tweeted,” Historic win! Incredible job @MayraFlores2022. Congrats to you and your team. #TX34 #RedWave”: