Democrats and Sanchez won the special election for Republican Myra Flores for the 34th Congressional District of Texas.
Flores’ victory would give the Republican an additional seat in the House and serve as former Democratic Rep. Philemon Vela’s term.
“I want to thank my family, especially my wife Alex and children Daniel and Alessia, the friends and community who put their hearts into this effort. Based on the results, we came up short tonight,” Sanchez said. a statement,
Flores will be the first member of Congress of Mexican descent. He benefited from significant investment by national Republicans and the relative indifference of Democrats, who were out by an estimated 20-to-1 margin.
Republicans zeroed in on the race as part of an effort to project increasing power with liberal and conservative Hispanic voters in South Texas. But Flores’ stay on Capitol Hill may be short-lived—he’ll be running for a full term in November against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who is shifting from his 15th congressional district to the new 34th. Friendly enough for Democrats.
Monica Robinson, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told CNN ahead of the special election, “A Democrat will represent TX-34 in January. If Republicans spend money on a seat that’s out of their reach in November, great.” ” The DCCC took a dip in the late race earlier this month, spending $100,000 on digital ads.
Sanchez’s lack of support disappointed Gonzalez, who told Politico weeks ago that it would be “a tragedy” if the seat turns red for any length of time. In a statement earlier Tuesday, he welcomed late interest in the contest, but called for more.
“I’m pleased to see Democrats join the race,” he told CNN, “but South Texas needs continued investment from the party.”
Sanchez, in a statement hours after the race, was less diplomatic. He expressed confidence that Gonzalez would win in November and denounced “out of the interests of the state” for supporting Flores financially, but also called on his own party.
“A lot of factors were against us,” said the former Cameron County commissioner, “including little or no support from the National Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.”
Republicans and allied outside groups made more significant commitments to Flores, using the campaign to give him a headstart in the fall and to help escalate his widespread attacks on National Democrats, beyond the district’s relocation boundaries.
“This election will show that voters in Texas’ 34th district are tired of Democrats’ incompetence and record-high inflation at the border,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Torun Sinclair said ahead of election day. “Texans and voters around the country know that Democrat policies are making their lives worse, and they will vote Republican.”
Whether or not Flores’ victory portends much for the coming general election is difficult to predict. Democrats and other observers, including Sanchez’s team, were confident that the race would, at worst, go into a runoff. What is clear, however, is that Vela’s decision to resign to take a job as a lobbyist has caused another headache for an already slim majority of House Democrats.