Republican Mayra Flores flips deep blue seat in Texas

Republican Mayra Flores flipped a Democratic House district in South Texas on Tuesday.

Flores, who is a respiratory care practitioner by trade, had 51 percent of the vote to Democrat Dan Sanchez’s 43 percent when Sanchez conceded the race in a district where 85 percent of residents are Latino. Flores won the seat outright by taking a majority of the vote, without needing a runoff.

Flores will hold the seat until January under the district’s old lines.

In November, there will be a general election to decide who represents the new 34th District, which favors Democrats much more than the current district. The nominees for that race have already been decided in the normal primary process: Flores will face off against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez under the new lines.

Flores is focused on solving the border crisis. According to Flores, liberal policies are endangering border towns. “We must secure our borders and keep our families safe,” Flores states in a campaign advertisement.

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.”

President Trump congratulated Flores and called her the “Big Winner,” in a post on Truth Social. Flores accompanied Trump to the Rio Grande Valley last year to witness the Biden’s unsecured border. In an exclusive interview with RSBN, Flores mentioned “I was very happy that he was here putting the spotlight on South Texas.”

Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez expressed his frustration at the lack of support given to Dan Sanchez. “I’m pleased to see Democrats mobilizing around this race,” he told CNN, “but South Texas needs sustained investment from the party.”

Sanchez, in a statement conceding the race hours later, was less diplomatic. He expressed confidence that Gonzalez would win in November and denounced “out of state interests” for financially backing Flores, but also called out his own party.

“Too many factors were against us,” the former Cameron County commissioner said, “including too little to no support from the National Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.”