A Latino organization slammed Democrat President Joe Biden and his party in a statement Tuesday night, following Republicans’ historic special election win in deep blue south Texas. The win marked the first time the region has been represented by a Republican in more than 100 years.
Republican Mayra Flores, who flipped Texas’ 34th Congressional District by beating Democrat Dan Sanchez, is now “the first GOP candidate to represent that area of the Rio Grande Valley since 1870,” the Houston Chronicle reported, and she will be “the first congresswoman born in Mexico.”
Bienvenido In Action, a grassroots organization dedicated to mobilizing patriotic Latino leaders, said that the election sent the country a “powerful message.”
“By electing Republican Mayra Flores to Congress, Hispanics are telling the rest of the country that we are fed up with reckless liberal policies and want change,” the group wrote. “Mayra won because she ran a campaign rooted in our community’s values: God, Family, and Country.”
“Meanwhile, Joe Biden and the Democrats have made life more expensive for Hispanics, our neighborhoods less safe, and a mockery of our culture,” the statement continued. “While gas prices go through the roof and families struggle to find baby formula, Biden and the left have weakened our communities, radicalized our school curricula, and even tried imposing offensive terms like ‘Latinx’ to upend our language. In Washington, Mayra will fight for the American values of Texas’ 34th congressional district. Bienvenido In Action is proud to have worked with Mayra since the start of her campaign and we look forward to her leadership in Congress.”
The first Mexican-born congresswoman will be a Republican. Mayra Flores flipped a congressional seat that was under Democrat control for over a century. An 85% Hispanic district, flipping it from blue to red is historic. pic.twitter.com/dR7ksvmPzC
— Bienvenido In Action (@BienvenidoIA) June 15, 2022
Texas’ 34th Congressional District was previously held by Rep. Filemon Vela (D), who stepped down earlier this year to become a lobbyist as all signs pointed to a brutal upcoming midterm election season for Democrats.
The region has been devastated by Democrat President Joe Biden’s border crisis, something that has turned off many Hispanic voters that typically have voted for Democrats in the past.
“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,” the Texas Tribune reported. “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.”