After her decisive victory last night, Republican Mayra Flores will be the first Mexican-born woman ever to serve in Congress, shrinking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s margin as Latinos continue to flee Democrats’ record of failures.
In Tuesday’s special election to replace Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela — who stepped down this year to become a lobbyist — Flores flipped the seat by beating Democrat Dan Sanchez in a 51% to 43% margin. Flores will hold the seat until January and face a general election race against Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in November in a newly-redistricted seat that Democrats claim is more favorable to them.
Republicans’ red wave is growing. The U.S. House Press Gallery reports five more special election vacancies in the U.S. House, with four of the remaining seats likely safe in Republican incumbent hands. Democratic Rep. Delgado’s seat is now competitive in New York after he resigned last month to serve as lieutenant governor. Pelosi now has just 220 votes to Republicans’ 210, meaning the GOP must flip just eight seats before Pelosi loses the gavel.
Flores’ victory disproves liberal race-baiters who try to smear the GOP as racist and anti-immigrant. Flores’ story illustrates how Republicans believe in legal immigration and rule of law that makes America attractive for the hundreds of millions of people who want to come here.
The fact that nearly 160 million people—including millions of black, brown, and Asian people outside America say they wish to immigrate here — many of them risking their very lives — is compelling evidence that, relative to anywhere else on the planet, Despite leftist smearing, America — though not perfect — is a shining example of racial equality.
“As the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress, Mayra has sent a resounding message to the Democratic Party in South Texas and across America— Democrats do not own the Hispanic vote,” Rep. Elise Stefanik said in a statement. “I’m excited to work with Mayra in Congress and to help her once again win in the general election so that she can play a critical role in Republicans’ efforts to stop the Biden Border Crisis and help fix our broken immigration system.”
Stefanik, founder of E-PAC, was the first member of Congress and national political figure to endorse and support Flores’ campaign. Stefanik launched E-PAC after the 2018 midterm elections to increase that number by supporting top Republican female candidates in primaries across the country. (RELATED: Rep. Elise Stefanik Backs GOP Women Targeting Vulnerable Incumbent Dems)
“Mayra Flores came to this country at age six and will now be a member of Congress. She is living the American Dream,” said Annie Dickerson, founder and chair of Winning For Women Action Fund, which financially backed Flores. “We are proud to support her, and look forward to helping her hold onto the seat in November.”
WFW AF is the expenditure arm of Winning For Women. Launched in 2019, it bills itself as the first SuperPAC dedicated solely to electing Republican women. WFW AF and related groups raised over $4.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 and spent nearly $3 million last cycle.
Carrie Sheffield is the Tony Blankley Fellow for American Exceptionalism at The Steamboat Institute.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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