Republican Mayra Flores has managed to make history as she flipped the U.S. House seat out in deep blue south Texas in what seems like a marker of the incoming red tidal wave that could hit the Democrat Party in the midterm elections taking place this fall.
Flores managed to give Democrat Dan Sanchez the boot in the special election for the 34th Congressional District in Texas. The seat was previously held by Rep. Filemon Vela (D) who chose to retire earlier this year in order to take a new position as a lobbyist as many signs pointed to a, for the Democrats at least, worrying upcoming midterm election season.
Flores is now “the first GOP candidate to represent that area of the Rio Grande Valley since 1870,” stated a report from the Houston Chronicle, adding that she is actually “the first congresswoman born in Mexico.”
The U.S. House editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, Dave Wasserman, stated in a tweet: “I’ve seen enough: Mayra Flores (R) defeats Dan Sanchez (D) in the #TX34 special election, flipping an 84% Hispanic Rio Grande Valley seat red.”
Dave calls it – Republicans have flipped the second largest Hispanic majority district in the country. #TX34 https://t.co/OCmiPbbl45
— Stephen Sanchez (@SSanchezTV) June 15, 2022
🚨BREAKING🚨 In her victory tonight, Republican @MayraFlores2022 flipped 85% Hispanic Cameron County in Texas.
Hillary Clinton won Cameron by 33 points in 2016 and Biden won it by 13.
The Hispanic shift to the GOP is the most important story in American politics today. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/AKkoNAO0yd
— Giancarlo Sopo (@GiancarloSopo) June 15, 2022
A possible cause for the turmoil comes after the area was severely impacted by the border crisis from Democrat President Joe Biden, an issue that has flipped many Hispanic voters that normally would have voted for Democrats, historically.
“Republicans have been eager to flip the seat as part of their new offensive in South Texas after Biden’s underperformance throughout the predominantly Hispanic region in the 2020 election. Flores and her allies spent over $1 million on TV ads in the special election,” stated a report from the Texas Tribune. “The dynamic put Democrats into an unusual underdog position in a region of the state they have long dominated. Vastly outspent by Flores, Sanchez repeatedly compared the special election to a David vs. Goliath fight, with himself playing David.”
Eric Michael Garcia, a columnist for MSNBC, was quite panicked over the results of the election, stating that Democrats should be worried and sounding the alarm to other Democrats 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 stated in a tweet. “But like @SeanTrende , I expected this in two decades. #TX34. This should be a five alarm fire for Democrats.”