Democrat Vincente Gonzalez has been elected to represent Texas 34th congressional district after receiving 10,000 more votes than incumbent Mayra Flores.
Early on, Gonzalez appeared to declare victory after results showed he was in the lead. “They spent over $7 million against us, over $7 million in a Rio Grande Valley election, spewing lies and hate and misinformation, but we defeated them,” Gonzalez told a crowd of his supporters at Mi Pueblito restaurant in Brownsville.
Flores held an election party in Weslaco and gave a speech alluding that she lost the election.
“We are still pending thousands of votes but it doesn’t look our way,” Flores said. “I will forever be grateful for every single one of your support.”
She followed by saying that “the best is yet to come,” and that she would always fight for District 34.
The Rio Grande Valley midterm elections have been heavily scrutinized due to a seeming shift in support for Republican candidates and the party’s focus on campaigning in the region.
Republicans have claimed there is a “Red Wave” in the area but Flores refuted this in a tweet following her loss and criticized Republican voters for not showing up.
Flores won a special election in June against Democrat Dan Sanchez, one of three candidates. The special election was triggered after incumbent Filemon Vela, who held the seat since 2013, resigned for a job with Washington, D.C., lobbying firm Akin Gump in March.
Gonzalez, who has held the District 15 seat since 2017, ran for the District 34 seat after redistricting. District 34 was poised to be more competitive for Democrats, but Cook Political Report designated the race a toss-up leaning Republican.
Republicans invested heavily into South Texas after the 2020 presidential election, where former President Donald Trump carried Starr County and performed better in the RGV’s other three counties.
Gonzalez dismissed the idea that his district is turning red.
“Even with these large investments, we showed the Republican party that South Texas is not their home,” Gonzalez said.