Flores lost her campaign for a full term in the November 2022 midterm elections to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in the district that was redrawn that year.[1] She then ran in 2024 for the same seat against Gonzalez and lost again.
Early life and education
Mayra Nohemi Flores was born on January 1,1986,in Burgos,Tamaulipas,Mexico,to migrant farmworkers. Her family moved to the U.S. when she was six years old and she gained citizenship at 14. She graduated from San Benito High School in 2004.[2][3] Her family often moved yearly throughout Texas during her childhood because of her and her parents' work picking cotton,which began in Memphis,Texas,when she was 13.[4][5] She graduated from South Texas College in 2019.[4]
Before her congressional campaigns and shortly after graduating from college,Flores worked in the Hidalgo County Republican Party as chair of Hispanic outreach.[8][4] In 2022,she organized pro-Trump caravans through the Rio Grande Valley.[9] Before her election to Congress,Flores used hashtags associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory on an Instagram post,though she has denied ever being a supporter of QAnon.[3] In tweets that she later deleted,Flores also promoted the false claim that the 2021 United States Capitol attack was "set up" by antifa members among the crowd during the riot.[9][10]
In March 2022, Vela announced his early resignation from Congress.[16] Shortly after his announcement, Flores declared her candidacy in the special election on June 14, 2022, to fill the vacancy.[17] Gonzalez did not run in the special election.[18] Flores's campaign focused on her family, the economy, border security, and her upbringing as the daughter of immigrants.[19] During the special election, Flores reported $752,000 in contributions, while Democrat Dan Sanchez of Harlingen reported $46,000.[20] Turnout was incredibly low at only 7.3% of registered voters participating in the election.[21] Flores defeated Sanchez with 50.91% of the vote to Sanchez's 43.37%, avoiding a runoff.[20] She is the first Mexican-born woman elected to serve in Congress.[3][20][22][23]
In her general election campaign against Democrat Vincente Gonzalez, Flores was targeted with racist and sexist comments; a blogger who had previously received funds from the Gonzalez campaign called her "Miss Frijoles", "Miss Enchiladas", and a "cotton-pickin' liar".[24] Gonzalez and district Democrats condemned these comments. Gonzalez also called Flores "unqualified" and claimed she could not "think or speak for herself", criticisms that were called sexist.[25][26]
In the November 8 general election, Gonzalez defeated Flores to become the next Representative for the 34th District.[1]
2024
On July 11, 2023, Flores announced a campaign to retake the 34th district in the 2024 election.[27]
In what the Texas Tribune called "a bizarre micro-scandal", in January 2024 Flores was accused by a social media user of stealing photos of food and presenting them as her own on her campaign's social media accounts. Flores initially blocked critics and changed the name of her social media account, but later said she had "no intention to mislead" and that the photos reminded her of her childhood upbringing in Mexico.[28][29] The pictures included Guyaneseroti, mislabeled as Mexican gorditas, and photos from a Guatemalan magazine.[30]
Despite the minor scandal, dubbed "Grubgate", she prevailed in a contested primary election on March 5, 2024.[31][27] She received millions of dollars of campaign funding from other House Republicans and increased Republican voter turnout, but lost the election against incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in the November general election by 5,137 votes, 51.3% to 48.7% .[32] Flores has campaigned in churches in potential violation of federal regulations.[33]
Tenure
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(left) swears in Flores, as her husband looks on
In July 2022, The New York Times published an article about Flores's election, calling her a "far-right Latina".[9] Flores responded to the article, saying The New York Times knew "nothing about me or our culture" and that "I have received only hate from the liberal media".[37][38] The article was also criticized by Ted Cruz and Laura Ingraham, among others.[39][40]
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