GOP eyes South Texas flip as they back Mayra Flores for Congress

The Texas Rio Grande Valley for years has been a Democrat stronghold. It is prime border land full of mostly minority voters who become coaxed into voting blue with the promise of better lives. Instead, those promises have fallen flat time and again, and in the last few years, the political stance of the Valley has begun to shift.

What was once an automatic win for Democrats down there is not so much anymore. Many career Democrats have started flipping Republican, one of the biggest being Mayra Flores. She won the 34th District seat a 2022 Special Election in the area and served in congress for a few months before eventually losing to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez. Flores has since flipped to the GOP, and now, the party is putting resources behind her on a national scale.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) named Flores recently to their 'Young Gun' list, which gives her an influx of money and a newfound chance at the seat.

SMU political science professor Cal Jillson says even with all the money though, this race is still less than a toss-up.

"The advantage is with Gonzalez, but Flores will welcome the national support and extra money," he says.

At the latest check, Gonzalez was sitting around three million dollars in funding, and Flores had significantly less than that. But now that the GOP pocketbooks have opened up, that gap may narrow significantly as November nears.

Making the 'Young Guns' list is no small feat for the new Republican. While the district is still a fairly Democrat stronghold, the Republicans see some avenues to a win, especially after her last run.

"She lost that race by nearly ten points...so she overperformed the Republican expectations for the district," he says.

She still did come up short, though, and now has to battle an incumbent with a bigger local profile.

The Valley, for all the flip flopping recently, still remains a strong Democrat area, especially in the 34th district in which she is running. But, the foundations are starting to crack for the Left in South Texas.

"It is still strongly Democrat, but not as strong as it used to be...voters are willing to listen to a candidate, especially when they talk about jobs," he says.

Jillson adds though that even the influx of money and backing may not be enough to unseat Gonzalez.