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. 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.
Flores, a Mexican immigrant, won the race outright with nearly 51 percent of the vote and avoided a runoff. She’ll serve the remaining six months left in the congressional term. Democratic candidate Dan Sanchez, a former Cameron County commissioner, trailed with 43 percent. Flores’ victory is a boost for state and national Republicans eager to gain ground along the Texas border.
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. “Congresswoman-Elect Mayra Flores and the people of Texas have a message for Joe Biden!” Flores’ campaign tweeted. “The RED Tsunami is here!”
