Rematch is set for Valley House seat
Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, who became the first Mexican-born congresswoman last year after flipping a South Texas seat red, is running again for the seat she lost in November.
Flores, a conservative Republican, made history in June 2022 when she won a special election for Texas’ 34th Congressional District, which is seated in Brownsville. Her victory was part of a broader GOP effort to take South Texas, a predominantly Hispanic region that has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold.
But Republicans came up short during the general election. They aimed to flip two nearby seats and keep Flores in office for a full term, but they were only successful in one of those races.
Flores lost by 8.5 percentage points to U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a McAllen Democrat, who had decided to run in the 34th after the 2021 redistricting cycle.
Flores, of Los Indios, announced in a Tuesday interview with Fox News that she’s ready for a rematch.
“I have a lot of faith in God, in my family and my amazing team that we will flip this district and take back what is ours in 2024,” she said. “The people of South Texas, the American people, deserve to have a voice in Washington.”
Flores has described herself as pro-God, profamily and pro-life. She was born in Burgos, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States when she was 6 years old. She became a citizen at 14.
“We were raised with strong conservative values to always put God and family first,” Flores said in the Fox interview. “We’re all about hard work. That is who we are. The Democrat Party stands against everything we stand for, and no political party is worth us putting our faith, our family values aside.”
She highlighted border security and the economy as top issues.
Gonzalez, who has served in Washington since 2017, previously represented the 15th Congressional District based in McAllen. But the 2021 redistricting process made his seat more favorable toward Republicans, prompting him to switch races.
His old seat was the only one where Republicans succeeded. U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, beat out Democratic challenger Michelle Vallejo also by 8.5 percentage points.
De La Cruz and Vallejo are also readying for a rematch next year.
Republicans had targeted the 28th Congressional District as well, held by longtime U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. He faced Cassy Garcia, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, and won by the largest margin in all three races.