Tipsheet

Mayra Flores Makes History As Newest Member of Congress

Maddy Welsh
Maddy Welsh  |  June 21, 2022 7:00 PM

Congresswoman Mayra Flores (R-TX), the first ever Mexican-born American woman elected to Congress, swore into office on Tuesday. She won the seat in a special election last week after the previous Democratic representative for the district, Rep. Filemon Vela, resigned in March.

The 34th congressional district in Texas has a majority Hispanic population and borders Mexico in some places. It's been held by Democrats for years and Biden won it by a few points in the 2020 presidential election, but Flores flipped it red for the first time since 2010. She's only the second person in 100 years to flip the district from Democrat to Republican.

She will serve the district for the remainder of Vela's term and will be on the ballot again for the regular congressional election in November. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D) will also be on the ballot in November, but as Townhall reported, Gonzalez fears the DCCC will fumble and let Flores' "red wave" spread across the country.

Flores is at the forefront of what she is calling Lexit — a shift in the Latino vote from Democrat to Republican:

Flores' campaign tagline was "God, Family, Country" and she is promising to "bring back God to the halls of Congress."

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She was endorsed by current Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) and earned the vote of Elon Musk who said he voted Republican for the first time in his life when he voted for Flores.