Mayra Flores

Last updated

Flores declared her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 34th congressional district after incumbent Democratic representative Filemon Vela Jr. announced in March 2021 that he would not seek reelection in 2022. [11] [12] She ran her campaign appealing to Hispanic and Latino Americans and their disillusionment with the Democratic Party, which they have historically supported in South Texas. [13] Following the establishment of new congressional districts as a part of the 2020 redistricting cycle, incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez of the 15th district announced his candidacy for the new 34th district. [14] On March 1, 2022, Flores and Gonzalez won their respective partisan primaries and faced each other in the general election on November 8, 2022. [15]

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]

2022 general

In her general election campaign against Democrat Vincente Gonzalez, Flores was targeted with racist and sexist comments; a blogger paid by 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] She prevailed in a contested primary election on March 5, 2024, and will run against incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in the November general election. [28] [27]

Tenure

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) swears in Flores, as her husband looks on Mayra Flores sworn in.png
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) swears in Flores, as her husband looks on

Flores was sworn in by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on June 21, 2022. [29] Three days later, Flores spoke out about the Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade , calling the decision a "big win" and a "dream come true". [30]

In June 2022, Flores voted against the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. [31]

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". [32] [33] The article was also criticized by Ted Cruz and Laura Ingraham, among others. [34] [35]

On July 19, 2022, Flores voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. [36]

Political positions

Flores supports religious freedom, school choice, and abortion bans. [9] She opposes same-sex marriage. [36] She backed former President Trump publicly and raised doubts about the results of the 2020 election. [37]

Committee assignments

Flores' committee assignments included: [38]

Personal life

Flores has worked as a respiratory therapist. [4] She is married to John Vallejo, a U.S. Border Patrol agent, with whom she has four children. [3]

Electoral history

Mayra Flores
Mayra Flores.jpg
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives
from Texas's 34th district
In office
June 21, 2022 –January 3, 2023
2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election results [39]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Mayra Flores 14,799 50.91
Democratic Dan Sanchez12,60643.37
Democratic Rene Coronado1,2104.16
Republican Juana Cantu-Cabrera4541.56
Total votes29,069 100.00
Registered electors 395,025
Republican gain from Democratic
2022 Texas's 34th congressional district general election results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Vicente Gonzalez (incumbent) 70,759 52.7
Republican Mayra Flores (incumbent)59,40444.3
Independent Chris Royal4,0763.0
Total votes134,239 100
Democratic gain from Republican

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional Hispanic Caucus</span> American group of legislators

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was founded in December 1976 as a legislative service organization of the United States House of Representatives. The CHC is organized as a Congressional Member organization, governed under the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Texas:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas's 34th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for Texas

Texas's 34th congressional district is a district that was created as a result of the 2010 census. The first candidates ran in the 2012 elections; the winner, Democrat Filemon Vela Jr., was seated for the 113th United States Congress. The district is currently represented by Vicente Gonzalez (D-McAllen), who was redistricted there from Texas's 15th congressional district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filemon Vela Jr.</span> American politician (born 1963)

Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 34th congressional district from 2013 until his resignation in 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Vela was also vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, having been nominated by President Joe Biden. In March 2022, Vela resigned in the middle of his term to work at Akin Gump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">117th United States Congress</span> 2021–2023 meeting of U.S. legislature

The 117th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2021, during the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency and the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency and ended on January 3, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicente Gonzalez (politician)</span> American politician (born 1967)

Vicente Gonzalez Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who serves as the United States representative for Texas's 34th congressional district since 2023 and served as the representative for Texas's 15th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas</span>

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Voters elected the 36 U.S. representatives from the state of Texas, one from each of the state's 36 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including the gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on March 6 and the run-offs were held on May 22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States House of Representatives elections</span> House election for the 118th U.S. Congress

The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2022, as part of the 2022 United States elections during incumbent president Joe Biden's term. Representatives were elected from all 435 U.S. congressional districts across each of the 50 states to serve in the 118th United States Congress, as well as 5 non-voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the District of Columbia and four of the five inhabited insular areas. Numerous other federal, state, and local elections, including the 2022 U.S. Senate elections and the 2022 U.S. gubernatorial elections, were also held simultaneously. This was the first election after the 2020 redistricting cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veronica Escobar</span> American politician (born 1969)

Veronica Escobar is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district, based in El Paso, since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as an El Paso County commissioner from 2007 to 2011 and the El Paso county judge from 2011 until 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Texas Senate election</span>

The 2018 Texas Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Texas voters elected state senators in 15 of the state senate's 31 districts. The winners of this election served in the 86th Texas Legislature. State senators serve four-year terms in the Texas State Senate. A statewide map of Texas's state Senate districts can be obtained from the Texas Legislative Council here, and individual district maps can be obtained from the U.S. Census here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas</span>

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 36 U.S. representatives from the state of Texas, one from each of the state's 36 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the U.S. Senate and various state and local elections. Primaries were held on March 3 and run-offs were held on July 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas</span>

The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the 38 U.S. representatives from Texas, one from each of the state's 38 congressional districts. The state gained two seats after the results of the 2020 census. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, other elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. Primary elections took place on March 1, with primary runoffs scheduled for May 24 for districts where no candidate received over 50% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Texas Attorney General election</span>

The 2022 Texas Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the Attorney General of Texas. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton won re-election to his third term. Paxton won all but 21 counties and won the popular vote by a margin of 9.7%, underperforming Governor Greg Abbott's concurrent bid for re-election by 1.1%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasmine Crockett</span> American attorney and politician (born 1981)

Jasmine Felicia Crockett is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from Texas's 30th congressional district since January 2023. Her district covers most of South Dallas County, Central Dallas, Dallas Love Field Airport, and parts of Tarrant County. A member of the Democratic Party, Crockett previously represented the 100th district in the Texas House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Texas's 6th congressional district special election</span>

The 2021 Texas's 6th congressional district special election was held on May 1, 2021. The seat became vacant after incumbent Republican Ron Wright died on February 7 of COVID-19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Texas Senate election</span>

The 2022 Texas Senate elections were held on November 8, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley Hunt</span> American politician (born 1981)

Wesley Parish Hunt is an American politician and veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 38th congressional district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election</span>

The 2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election was held on June 14, 2022. The seat, which went to Democratic president Joe Biden by only four points in the 2020 United States presidential election after being solidly blue in the past, became vacant after Democratic incumbent representative Filemon Vela Jr. resigned on March 31, 2022, to work at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monica De La Cruz</span> American politician (born 1974)

Monica De La Cruz is an American politician and insurance agent from the state of Texas. She has represented Texas's 15th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2023. De La Cruz is the first Republican and first woman to represent Texas's 15th congressional district since its creation in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas</span>

The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the thirty-eight U.S. representatives from the State of Texas, one from each of the state's congressional districts. The elections will coincide with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primary elections took place on March 5, 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 Gamboa, Suzanne (November 8, 2022). "Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez defeats GOP candidate Mayra Flores in TX". NBC News. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ "FLORES, Mayra". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Harris, Cayla (April 11, 2022) [April 7, 2022]. "Texas Republican Mayra Flores gets a boost in quest to be first U.S. congresswoman born in Mexico". San Antonio Express-News . Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Medina, Jennifer (March 1, 2022) [February 28, 2022]. "How Immigration Politics Drives Some Hispanic Voters to the G.O.P. in Texas". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  5. ↑ Harris, Cayla. What to know about Texas Republican Mayra Flores, the first congresswoman-elect born in Mexico Archived June 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine , San Antonio Express-News , June 15, 2022.
  6. ↑ Hennessy-Fiske, Molly (November 12, 2020). "'We've only started': How Latino support for Trump grew in Texas borderlands". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022.
  7. ↑ Reston, Maeve; Chavez, Nicole (February 28, 2020). "Democrats look to win back Latino voters after Trump's inroads in South Texas". CNN. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ Soellner, Mica (May 25, 2022). "Too many lawyers: GOP lawmaker spearheads PAC to elect blue-collar Americans to Congress". The Washington Times . Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Medina, Jennifer (July 6, 2022). "The Rise of the Far-Right Latina". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  10. ↑ Kaczynski, Andrew (June 23, 2022). "Newly elected GOP congresswoman spread Capitol riot conspiracies and QAnon hashtags in now-deleted tweets". CNN. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ Nichols, Hans (March 22, 2021). "Rep. Filemon Vela to retire from House ahead of Texas redistricting". Axios. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  12. ↑ "South Texas emerges as political hotbed after Democrats underperformed there in 2020". The Texas Tribune. March 26, 2021. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Latinas Are Pushing a Political Revolution in South Texas—to the Right". Texas Monthly . Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  14. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (October 26, 2021). "U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez will run for a different House seat in 2022 after redistricting made his more competitive". The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Unofficial election results: Vicente Gonzalez, Mayra Flores win nominations in District 34 race". KRGV-TV . March 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  16. ↑ Livingston, Abby (March 24, 2022). "U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela will resign early from Congress". The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  17. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (March 24, 2022). "U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela's resignation announcement sparks a sudden special-election scramble in hotly contested South Texas". The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Texas election is GOP's chance to prove how midterm winds are blowing". Rollcall.com. April 11, 2022. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  19. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (June 16, 2022). "How Mayra Flores flipped a Rio Grande Valley congressional seat and gave Republicans hope for a new era in South Texas". Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 Svitek, Patrick. Republicans flip U.S. House seat in South Texas, historically a Democratic stronghold Archived June 15, 2022, at the Wayback Machine , Texas Tribune , June 14, 2022.
  21. ↑ Harris, Cayla (June 15, 2022). "Republican Mayra Flores flips South Texas district to become first Mexican-born congresswoman". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Mayra Flores becomes the first Mexican-born woman sworn in to Congress". CNN. June 22, 2022. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Texas lawmaker first Mexican-born woman to join Congress". KKTV. June 22, 2022. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Blogger with ties to Vicente Gonzalez lobs racist attack at his congressional opponent Mayra Flores". The Texas Tribune. July 19, 2022.
  25. ↑ Caputo, Marc (July 19, 2022). "'Miss Frijoles' attack roils Latino-heavy congressional race in Texas". NBC News. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  26. ↑ Morris, Kyle (October 15, 2022). "Dem candidate running in contentious House race says his female opponent can't 'think' or 'speak' for herself". Fox News. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  27. 1 2 Svitek, Patrick (July 11, 2023). "Republican Mayra Flores announces bid to retake South Texas congressional seat". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  28. ↑ Abrams, Cameron (March 6, 2024). "Mayra Flores Takes Republican Primary, Setting Up Rematch Against Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez". The Texan. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  29. ↑ Gillman, Todd J. (June 21, 2022). "South Texas Republican Mayra Flores sworn in as newest member of Congress". Dallas News. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  30. ↑ "New Texas Rep. Mayra Flores on Roe v. Wade reversal: 'We have to start valuing life'". Fox News. June 24, 2022. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  31. ↑ Taylor, Steve (June 26, 2022). "Flores is sole border Rep. to vote against Cornyn's gun safety legislation". Rio Grande Guardian.
  32. ↑ Parks, Kristine (July 6, 2022). "Mayra Flores fires back after New York Times calls her 'far-right Latina': Paper knows 'nothing about me'". Fox News. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  33. ↑ Glebova, Diana (July 6, 2022). "GOP Congresswoman Mayra Flores Responds to 'Far-Right Latina' Attack in New York Times". National Review. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  34. ↑ Bedard, Paul (July 6, 2022). "The New York Times label of Mayra Flores as 'far-right Latina' draws GOP fire". Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  35. ↑ What the Hispanic community is worried about: Rep Mayra Flores. Fox News. June 7, 2022.
  36. 1 2 Moreno, Gaby (July 20, 2022). "Rep. Mayra Flores votes against bill protecting gay marriage". Valley central.
  37. ↑ "The RED WAVE did not happen: Texas Republican Mayra Flores projected to lose House seat". CBS News. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Committees and Caucuses | Congresswoman Mayra Flores". flores.house.gov. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  39. ↑ "SPECIAL ELECTION CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 34 - UNOFFICIAL RESULTS". Secretary of State of Texas. June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 34th congressional district
2022–2023		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas former U.S. Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as former U.S. Representative		Succeeded byas former U.S. Representative
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.