Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Hispanic Christian conservative Mayra Flores won the special election to fill the vacant Texas Congressional District 34 seat on June 14. Her win flips the seat from Democrat to Republican further reducing Democrats’ narrow majority in the House.
Political analysts say it is a devastating blow to Nancy Pelosi and a foreshadowing of the November midterm elections.
Flores, in her victory speech, thanked God first, her family, and workers for her success. In a tweet, she stated “This win will bring back God to the halls of Congress.”
This historic win will bring back God to the halls of Congress! This win is for the people who were ignored for so long! This is a message that the establishment will no longer be tolerated! We have officially started the red wave!! #TX34
God, Family, Country pic.twitter.com/pNn8UYoPor
— Mayra Flores Vallejo (@MayraFloresTX34) June 15, 2022
“I’m forever grateful,” Flores said on June 14, her voice breaking with emotion. “For 100 years we have been taken for granted.” She was referring to Democrats for Decades dominating the heavily Hispanic Rio Grande Valley but as the party veered increasingly to the radical left, Hispanics felt their conservative values were not represented.
Among those values are those of the pro-life community who count Flores as a staunch ally of the unborn.
Polls, backed up by this stunning victory, show that Republicans have made significant inroads and found support among Hispanics for increased border security, immigration, pro-life and other family issues.
She received 51 percent of the vote to Democrat rival Dan Sanchez who received 43.3 percent of the vote.
Flores becomes the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress.
Dave Wasserman, U.S. House editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, tweeted: “I’ve seen enough: Mayra Flores (R) defeats Dan Sanchez (D) in the #TX34 special election, flipping an 84 percent Hispanic Rio Grande Valley seat red.”
Other tweets agreed:
“Dave calls it — Republicans have flipped the second-largest Hispanic majority district in the country.” — Stephen Sanchez (@SSanchezTV)
“The Hispanic shift to the GOP is the most important story in American politics today.” — Giancarlo Sopo (@GiancarloSopo)
A legal immigrant from Mexico, Florez is married to a Border Patrol officer, and said Democrats have taken Latinos for granted. She ran as pro-Second Amendment candidate.
Ground support, including that in the protestant and Catholic communities, was strong for Flores.
MSNBC columnist Eric Michael Garcia panicked over the results of the election, saying that Democrats needed to be sounding the alarm immediately.
“There is a political earthquake happening in Latino politics in South Texas, and there is a reason I have been saying it will be voting like West Virginia,” he tweeted. “But like @SeanTrende , I expected this in two decades. #TX34. This should be a five alarm fire for Democrats.”
She will face Democrat Vincent Gonzalez this November.
–Dwight Widaman with wire services
