Flores will be the first Mexican-born woman to be elected to Congress. It benefited from a significant investment by National Republicans and relative indifference from Democrats, who spent more than 20 to 1. Republicans ran the race as part of an effort to showcase growing power with moderate and conservative Hispanic voters in South Texas. The National Republican Committee of Congress on Wednesday described Flores’s victory as a “blueprint for success in South Texas,” according to a note received by CNN. But Flores’s stay at the Capitol may be short – she will be running for full term in November against Democrat Vicente Gonzalez, who is ousted from the 15th Congressional District. The redesigned 34th District is much friendlier to Democrats – and while incumbent President Joe Biden won his current 4-point seat by 2020, he would have won the new version by about 16 points. “A Democrat will represent the TX-34 in January. If Republicans spend money in a position they can’t afford in November, that’s great,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman Monica Robinson told CNN ahead of the special election. . The committee entered the race late, spending $ 100,000 on digital ads earlier this month. The lack of support for Sanchez disappointed Gonzalez, who told Politico weeks ago that it would be a “tragedy” if the seat turned red for any length of time. In a statement earlier Tuesday, he welcomed the delayed interest in the tender, but asked for more. “I’m glad to see Democrats mobilizing around this race,” he told CNN, “but South Texas needs continued investment from the party.” Sanchez, in a statement released hours later, was less diplomatic. He expressed confidence that Gonzalez would win in November and complained “outside state interests” that he financially supported Flores, but also called on his own party. “Many factors were at odds with us,” said the former Cameron county commissioner, “including very little or no support from the National Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.” Republicans and allied outsiders made more significant commitments to Flores, using the campaign to give it an edge in the fall and, beyond the region’s changing borders, to step up their wider attacks on National Democrats. “This election was a referendum on the reckless policies of the Democrats that created a border crisis, led to high inflation and skyrocketed gas prices,” Republican National Committee committee chairman Tom Emerick said in a statement after the meeting. Flores. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly described the historical significance of Flores’s victory. She will be the first Mexican-born woman to be elected to Congress.
