Republican Mayra Flores, the former U.S. Representative from Texas who lost a bid to keep her seat last year, has announced she is running to retake it.
Flores announced her campaign during an interview on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday, saying she’s ready to “take back what’s ours.” The former representative won her seat in a special election last June, marking the first Republican to represent the South Texas district in more than 150 years, but lost it months later in November’s midterm elections.
“I am announcing for Congress,” Flores said during an appearance on Fox News. “We are taking back our seat, Texas District 34. I’m very excited, and I have a lot of faith in God, in my family, in my amazing team, that we will flip this district and take back what is ours in 2024.”
Flores, the wife of a border patrol agent, emphasized securing the border and preventing child trafficking in her announcement. She also blamed the Biden administration for “losing track of 85,000 children,” referencing a report that the Department of Health and Human Services has “lost touch” with as many as 85,000 migrant children, according to The New York Times.
“And so this is for our children, for the future, for their parents, and also for these children that are being brought into the United States as well, to be trafficked,” Flores said.
Flores, the first Mexican-born U.S. congresswoman, also released a campaign ad on Twitter, touting her family’s roots in South Texas and the value of family. “I’m running to help restore the American Dream, secure our borders, and stand strong on our values of God, Family and Country,” she tweeted.
I am excited to announce that I am officially running for Congress in #TX34
We made history last year, but there’s still work to be done here in South Texas.
I’m running to help restore the American Dream, secure our borders, and stand strong on our values of God, Family and… pic.twitter.com/OgMKepIB8b
— Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) July 11, 2023
Last week, The Texas Tribune reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had been recruiting Flores to run again for the seat, which Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez currently holds. Gonzalez garnered 52.7% of the vote in November compared to Flores’ 44.2%. Despite Flores winning the special election months earlier, redistricting before the November election was a significant factor in Gonzalez’s win, according to The Texas Tribune.
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An NRCC poll from late May showed Flores tied with Gonzalez in a hypothetical matchup, but according to the Cook Political Report, the 34th District currently favors Democrats by 9 points.
“Mayra Flores has already proven she can win, and new polling shows she remains popular,” the polling memo said.