The National Republican Congressional Committee has throw its support behind Texas Republican congressional candidate Mayra Flores with a multi-thousand dollar ad campaign. But as the November elections quickly approaches, what are her chances of taking the House seat, according to polls?
Flores is a Mexican-American politician who has quickly gotten national attention due to her conservative stances, particularly her views on abortion.
She represented Texas' 34th Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2022. But due to redistricting after the 2020 census, Flores and Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Jr. ran against one another in the 2022 election in the district, with Gonzalez defeating Flores 52.7%-44.2%.
But now Flores is back for a rematch, running in the general election in the same district once again, facing off Gonzalez and Brent Lewis, a Texas Libertarian.
Texas' 34th District is one of major interest to both parties, as Republicans thought it was the only potential flip target in the state until U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar was indicted on money laundering and corruption charges earlier this year, leading them to focus there as well.
But despite the increased competitiveness in the district, what are the polls saying?
Currently, there are few polls that indicate the state of the race. But earlier this year, 1892 polling, a partisan sponsor for the Republican Party, showed Gonzalez leading the race by three percentage points, at 48% to 45%. Nevertheless, they still considered the race a toss up.
That is why the party is showing their support for Flores. The National Republican Congressional Committee announced Wednesday an $800,000 ad reservation in Harlingen, Texas, to support Flores and flip the seat.
The campaign is the first by the national Republican group to target Texas this cycle, The Texas Tribune reports. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC with ties to House Republican leadership but independent from the campaigns, has also spent $1.9 million in support of Flores.
The ad reservation will also include $720,000 for U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who is defending his seat in Iowa. It will include broadcast, cable and digital advertisements.
"From border security to the cost of living, voters know extreme House Democrats are responsible for the mess but trust Republicans to deliver solutions," NRCC communications director Jack Pandol said in a statement. "With strong leaders like Zach Nunn and Mayra Flores returning to Washington next year, families can count on them to deliver results and reverse the Harris-Biden administration's glaring failures."
Flores has also received a campaign boost by the Committee, naming her in their Young Guns program, which provides mentorship, training and extra resources to Republican challengers.
Meanwhile, Democrats seem to be unbothered by their challengers, ridiculing Republican efforts in the district as useless, as Gonzalez won the seat in 2022 by more than 8 percentage points.
"Try as they might, the NRCC can't change the facts," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Lauryn Ganguen said in a statement. "South Texans know that Vicente Gonzalez is fighting for them and delivering results. Mayra Flores is a repeated liar and come November, she'll be a repeated loser."
Gonzalez has also echoed these sentiments, confident he will continue to hold his seat.
"We do enjoy watching Republicans squander resources in un-winnable districts. Amateur decisions like that is how we take the majority across the country," the incumbent said in a statement.
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