The massive GOP investment in the lead-up to next week's midterms has turned South Texas...
Gov. Greg Abbott embraces Cassy Garcia, Republican candidate in the District 28 race against incumbent Democrat Henry Cuellar, at the RNC Hispanic Community Center in Laredo on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022.At a Mexican restaurant on Tuesday in Pharr, just nine miles from the southern border, U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores made an appeal to South Texas Democrats: Leave the party and vote Republican.
Her pitch isn’t limited to the 34th, which is seated in Brownsville. In the final days before Nov. 8, Republicans — hoping to build on the momentum they gained among Latino voters two years ago — have launched an aggressive effort to flip the political representation of the southern border in a year when immigration has taken center stage like never before.
“It tells you a couple of things — one, the competitive nature of these races,” said Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. “Two, the fact that there's a lot of Republican money being dropped in congressional districts where they think they have a real shot at winning.
In the 34th, it’s a rare match-up between two incumbent members of Congress. Flores won a special election to represent the district in June, while her opponent, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, currently represents the neighboring 15th district in McAllen. He decided to switch over to the 34th district last year, after the GOP-led Texas Legislature redrew his seat to be more favorable to Republicans.
After the vote, Flores said the measure didn’t provide enough money to truly improve school safety, and it raised “constitutional issues surrounding the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens.” She later introduced the Reduce Gun Violence Act, a play on the Rio Grande Valley’s initials, that would reallocate funds designated for the Internal Revenue Service to bolster physical security at schools and increase mental health resources.
In the McAllen-based 15th district, it’s a contest between Monica De La Cruz, who came within 3 percentage points of unseating Gonzalez two years ago, and progressive Democrat Michelle Vallejo. The polling analysis outlet FiveThirtyEight considers both races toss-ups, though other political watchdogs have rated the 15th “likely Republican.”
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