![]() ![]() National Republicans pumped significant resources into the special election race while the national Democratic party only dipped its toe in. Texas Democrats have a terrible track record when it comes to winning special election races in predominantly Latino, traditionally blue districts. Vela, who won reelection in 2020 by 13 points, had already announced that he planned to retire, but his premature swing through the revolving door prompted a special election scenario that was ripe for a Republican pickup. The only reason that Republicans had a chance to pull off this upset was because Democratic Congressman Filemon Vela, who represented the district for four terms, abruptly announced in March that he was resigning his seat early to take a job with the powerful K Street lobbying firm Akin Gump. “The RED Tsunami is here!”īut the significance of the win in terms of the GOP’s prospects in South Texas is filled with caveats. “Congresswoman-Elect Mayra Flores and the people of Texas have a message for Joe Biden!” Flores’ campaign tweeted. The win, Republicans will say, is proof that the inroads that former President Donald Trump made among Hispanic voters in South Texas were no mere fluke, and that the long-blue region is on the verge of a historic political realignment. Flores’ victory is a boost for state and national Republicans eager to gain ground along the Texas border. Democratic candidate Dan Sanchez, a former Cameron County commissioner, trailed with 43 percent. She’ll serve the remaining six months left in the congressional term. In doing so, Flores became the first Latina to ever represent the Rio Grande Valley in Congress and the first Republican to do so since Reconstruction.įlores, a Mexican immigrant, won the race outright with nearly 51 percent of the vote and avoided a runoff. Mayra Flores made history Tuesday night by winning the special election for the 34th congressional district, a Democratic stronghold that stretches from Brownsville up east of San Antonio. This story was cross-posted from the Texas Observer, an investigative news organization that covers Texas communities whose stories are often ignored. Filemon Vela (D-TX) speaks on February 20, 2017, in San Juan, Texas. ![]()
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