A campaign sign for the U.S. Representative for District 34 Myra Flores in Brownsville, Texas, on March 1.
photo:
Dennis Cathay/The Associated Press
After winning Tuesday’s special election in Texas, Myra Flores will soon become America’s first Mexican-born congresswoman—and by the way, she’s a Republican married to a Border Patrol agent. A great American story, as well as further proof that Democrats will not win the future on demographics alone.
The 34th district is in South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, where the GOP has made several inroads. Some news reports state that this party from the Lone Star State has not been represented in the House by a Republican since 1870. Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela held the seat in 2020 with a 14-point victory, before resigning to join a lobbying firm. ,
Ms. Flores will serve the rest of her term, and doesn’t look like she won by tripling the center. “Washington liberals are killing the American dream, attacking oil and gas jobs and causing prices to skyrocket,” she says in her ads. “We must protect our borders and keep our families safe.” She describes herself as pro-life and promises to protect religious freedom. According to the latest results, she won the four-way race outright with 51% of the vote.
Today’s Democratic Party is increasingly falling out with many Hispanic voters. Progressives do not want any ban on abortion. They see oil and gas jobs as a threat to the climate. And they paint religious-freedom arguments as bigotry in disguise. The more President Biden shuns the most left-wing elements of his party, the better the opportunity for Republicans to make substantial gains.
Perhaps a victory for Ms. Flores will make some more Democratic South Texas GOPs reconsider. A note of caution is that particular polls are not always harmful. The current tally says around 30,000 voters turned out on Tuesday, compared to more than 200,000 in 2020. Ms Flores will cut back on her job to retain her seat in November. That election will be held under a revised map that makes the district more democratic.
Ms. Flores will face outgoing Representative Vicente Gonzalez, who currently commands the neighboring state’s 15th District. He will have to work hard in these next five months to prove himself. But whatever the case, Tuesday’s victory already proves the GOP can compete for its constituents.
Journal Editorial Report: San Francisco Remembers Progressive Prosecutor Chesa Boudin. Images: Getty Images/Bloomberg Overall: Mark Kelly
opinion | The Republican Who Flipped South Texas
A campaign sign for the U.S. Representative for District 34 Myra Flores in Brownsville, Texas, on March 1.
photo:
Dennis Cathay/The Associated Press
After winning Tuesday’s special election in Texas, Myra Flores will soon become America’s first Mexican-born congresswoman—and by the way, she’s a Republican married to a Border Patrol agent. A great American story, as well as further proof that Democrats will not win the future on demographics alone.
The 34th district is in South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, where the GOP has made several inroads. Some news reports state that this party from the Lone Star State has not been represented in the House by a Republican since 1870. Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela held the seat in 2020 with a 14-point victory, before resigning to join a lobbying firm. ,
Ms. Flores will serve the rest of her term, and doesn’t look like she won by tripling the center. “Washington liberals are killing the American dream, attacking oil and gas jobs and causing prices to skyrocket,” she says in her ads. “We must protect our borders and keep our families safe.” She describes herself as pro-life and promises to protect religious freedom. According to the latest results, she won the four-way race outright with 51% of the vote.
Today’s Democratic Party is increasingly falling out with many Hispanic voters. Progressives do not want any ban on abortion. They see oil and gas jobs as a threat to the climate. And they paint religious-freedom arguments as bigotry in disguise. The more President Biden shuns the most left-wing elements of his party, the better the opportunity for Republicans to make substantial gains.
Perhaps a victory for Ms. Flores will make some more Democratic South Texas GOPs reconsider. A note of caution is that particular polls are not always harmful. The current tally says around 30,000 voters turned out on Tuesday, compared to more than 200,000 in 2020. Ms Flores will cut back on her job to retain her seat in November. That election will be held under a revised map that makes the district more democratic.
Ms. Flores will face outgoing Representative Vicente Gonzalez, who currently commands the neighboring state’s 15th District. He will have to work hard in these next five months to prove himself. But whatever the case, Tuesday’s victory already proves the GOP can compete for its constituents.
Journal Editorial Report: San Francisco Remembers Progressive Prosecutor Chesa Boudin. Images: Getty Images/Bloomberg Overall: Mark Kelly
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Appeared in the print edition, June 16, 2022.