By Rachel Schilke
Washington Examiner
EXCLUSIVE — Former Republican Rep. Mayra Flores, who announced her bid to unseat Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) earlier this year, is returning to her original district and mounting her third comeback campaign against Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX).
Flores announced in April that she was running to challenge Cuellar in the 28th District after losing twice over the last few cycles to Gonzalez in the 34th District, where she briefly served as congresswoman. But Flores has changed her plans after Texas redrew its congressional maps, adding five GOP congressional seats and widening Republican margins in existing districts.
Now, internal polling shows Flores would overperform the declared GOP candidates running to unseat Gonzalez in the 34th District, and because of this, she will no longer challenge Cuellar.
“After redistricting, [the 34th] District is a lot more leaning Republican, and we believe that the best decision is for us to continue the work that we started back in 2021,” Flores said in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
Flores, the first Mexico-born female member of Congress, served in the House as the 34th District’s congresswoman from late June 2022 to early January 2023. She won a special election to replace former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., who had resigned, and flipped the district red for the first time in over a decade.
Her 2026 bid will be her third attempt to beat Gonzalez in the 34th District. She’s lost twice already: once in the election for a full term to the district in 2022 and again in the 2024 elections.
Last November, she came within 3 points of Gonzalez, stoking speculation that she would launch another bid for the 34th District in 2026. Instead, she chose to challenge Cuellar.
However, thanks to redistricting, which boosts her odds, Flores thinks she can best her GOP primary competitors – particularly as she is the only one to have received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. She said her commitment to bring more Hispanic voters into the Republican Party helped the GOP secure victories in 2024 despite her own loss.
In 2020, only 35 percent of Latino voters supported Trump. But in 2024, Hispanic support for Trump rose to 43 percent.
“I spoke at [Trump’s] rallies, traveled with him in swing states, and did Hispanic round tables, making sure that he got the Hispanic support. Why? Because it was important to me to get President Trump the win, but with Hispanic support, and we did that by giving him the most Hispanic support any president has ever gotten,” Flores said.
“Now, with the new redrawn districts that are more of a representation of what Texas looks like, I believe that we're going to win South Texas and make sure it’s a Republican district,” the former congresswoman said.
Because the filing deadline is not until September, Flores can easily shift her bid from Cuellar’s district back to Gonzalez’s. The primary will be in early 2026.
Flores announced in April that she was running to challenge Cuellar in the 28th District after losing twice over the last few cycles to Gonzalez in the 34th District, where she briefly served as congresswoman. But Flores has changed her plans after Texas redrew its congressional maps, adding five GOP congressional seats and widening Republican margins in existing districts.
Now, internal polling shows Flores would overperform the declared GOP candidates running to unseat Gonzalez in the 34th District, and because of this, she will no longer challenge Cuellar.
“After redistricting, [the 34th] District is a lot more leaning Republican, and we believe that the best decision is for us to continue the work that we started back in 2021,” Flores said in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
Flores, the first Mexico-born female member of Congress, served in the House as the 34th District’s congresswoman from late June 2022 to early January 2023. She won a special election to replace former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., who had resigned, and flipped the district red for the first time in over a decade.
Her 2026 bid will be her third attempt to beat Gonzalez in the 34th District. She’s lost twice already: once in the election for a full term to the district in 2022 and again in the 2024 elections.
Last November, she came within 3 points of Gonzalez, stoking speculation that she would launch another bid for the 34th District in 2026. Instead, she chose to challenge Cuellar.
However, thanks to redistricting, which boosts her odds, Flores thinks she can best her GOP primary competitors – particularly as she is the only one to have received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. She said her commitment to bring more Hispanic voters into the Republican Party helped the GOP secure victories in 2024 despite her own loss.
In 2020, only 35 percent of Latino voters supported Trump. But in 2024, Hispanic support for Trump rose to 43 percent.
“I spoke at [Trump’s] rallies, traveled with him in swing states, and did Hispanic round tables, making sure that he got the Hispanic support. Why? Because it was important to me to get President Trump the win, but with Hispanic support, and we did that by giving him the most Hispanic support any president has ever gotten,” Flores said.
“Now, with the new redrawn districts that are more of a representation of what Texas looks like, I believe that we're going to win South Texas and make sure it’s a Republican district,” the former congresswoman said.
Because the filing deadline is not until September, Flores can easily shift her bid from Cuellar’s district back to Gonzalez’s. The primary will be in early 2026.
21 comments:
After decades of democratic control it's time for change.
It is time to go back to eating "gorditas de mentiras con chorizo" and a side of "chilon."
No thank you.
Maybe she will expose Chente on the issues instead of sitting on her ass and running on platitudes like god, family, and country.
Statistics already shown that the Valley is one of the least educated places in America. If we elect Mayra we will only be frosting the cake.
If she were good Trump would have given her some sort of position in his administration. Right now the only position she can take is prone.
Divorcee. . . .so much for Republican family values.
She's burnt toast again.
Fact.
Los mexicanos le hacemos los mandados a Trump
Va a costar mucho recobrar nuestro crédito como país independiente y nuestro orgullo como mexicanos; no es ningún consuelo que nuestra presidenta diga que aquí el pueblo manda, sabiendo que ella, su gabinete y todos los morenistas hacen lo que Trump ordena.
She needs to go back Mexico
Is Mayra dating a white dude now? Bet it.
Ken Paxton?
Hey for $5k a month
Id run too
The least educated are black urban areas.
I’m waiting for Montoya to step up and look into Pedro Cardenas!! He faked a divorce, got money from BCIC, then sold his sweet company all while walking away with the BCIC cash. Highway robbery 101 straight out of the tax payer pocket. I appreciate you Juanito but you and many others are the reason why journalist have lost their prestige in modern day society. Journalist nowadays don’t want to set their bias aside to inform the people of the truth. From the blog to Fox News, yall have become one and the same. So please do us a favor and look into that situation. We deserve to be well informed.
In that picture Trump in hugging Ms. Flores with one arm and poking her in the ass with the other. 😂
Your observation regarding the valley's educational challenges is pertinent. Your specific remark about the prone position underscores this point. While I appreciate and respect your perspective, I would encourage you to consider your statements more carefully before sharing them in the future.
Whose the Tamalero? It is important to maintain a focus on more relevant matters. The details of her dating life are not of significant concern."
Actually, she us paying herself $7,000 per month from her campaign fund.
FUCKING EXACTLY 👍, Using (GOD) while making tortillas with another man. And she continued to use the phrase and denied. Get the fuck out of here fake ass
🤣, talking about bitch ass Mayra and this person crying Pedro. Way to go moron. Pedro 👍🤙
6:45 AM Who she is dating is important because it gives us a window of who she is as a person. For instance, if she were dating, God forbid, Captain Boboso we'd know if she is a drug user.
6:42
I am entitled to my opinion. I phrased it kindly too.
the BITCH...from BURGOS...is BACK!!!
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