Mayra Flores, a Republican and caregiver, won a landslide victory in a special election Tuesday for the party, which is trying to build on its success in 2020 in the Democratic stronghold of the Rio Grande Valley. She will be the first Latina Republican from Texas to Congress.
Ms Flores defeated three rivals in the special election to replace former Democrat Filemon Vela, who resigned before the end of his term this year. He won more than 50 percent of the vote in the 34th Texas Congressional District, according to the Associated Press, and will avoid the expected runoff with Dan Sanchez, a Democrat and former Cameron County commissioner.
However, her victory can only be temporary.
Extraordinary elections were held to determine who will cover the remaining term of Mr. Velas until the end of this year. Voters in the November general election will decide who will be the region’s permanent representative from January. Vicente Gonzalez, who currently represents a neighboring county, is the Democratic nominee for November and is widely favored to win the race against Flores, who is also vying to run for office in November.
Republicans have been directing huge sums of money and attention to the fight in recent weeks, seeking an early victory in an area that includes the border town of Brownsville. Ms. Flores raised 16 times the amount raised by Mr. Sanchez. Both she and her allies have spent more than $ 1 million on television commercials, while Democrats have been largely out of the air.
Republicans believe they have found an ideal candidate for the region in Ms. Flores, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a child. Her parents spent years working as immigrant farmers in Texas. She is the wife of a Border Patrol agent and has campaigned for strict immigration in the vast Mexican American Quarter.
“We voted for the values of California, the values of Austin, but not the values of South Texas,” he said at a campaign earlier this year. “This is our country.”
Like other Hispanic Republicans in the region, Ms. Flores is constantly attacking Democrats for not paying enough attention to South Texas, where former President Donald J. Trump made significant inroads with Hispanic voters in 2020. And he has embraced the Trump wing of his party and its falsely stolen campaign claims.
The snap elections posed significant challenges for Democrats.
Due to the new lines drawn in the redistribution process, the Democrats have less room in the special elections than they will do in November. Mr Vela surprised Democrats when he announced his decision in March to lobby before his term ends. Mr. Gonzalez has decided not to resign from his current seat to run in the by-elections.
Democrats were largely reluctant to allocate funds to special elections in a district they consider a safe bet in November. Instead, they have focused more on the neighboring 15th District, Mr. Gonzalez’s current headquarters. This area is considered one of the few competitors in Texas this year.
