Former GOP representative announces campaign to retake South Texas seat

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A former U.S. representative announced she'll try to retake her Congressional seat in South Texas that flipped back to blue last year.

Mayra Flores, a Republican, released a video on social media Tuesday morning announcing her campaign for U.S. House District 34, which stretches south from Kingsville along the Gulf Coast to the border. It includes communities like Harlingen and Weslaco.

Flores briefly held the seat after winning a special election in June 2022, becoming the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress and boosting Republican efforts to make gains in the Rio Grande Valley. During the general election in November, though, Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez unseated her despite national Republican groups pouring money into the race. She ended up losing that race by eight percentage points.

In a tweet announcing her candidacy Tuesday, she wrote, "We made history last year, but there’s still work to be done here in South Texas. I’m running to help restore the American Dream, secure our borders, and stand strong on our values of God, Family and Country."

Earlier this year, the National Republican Congressional Committee identified the District 34 race as one of its possible GOP pickups in next year's election, notably the only seat in Texas. Delanie Bomar, the NRCC's regional press secretary, said in a statement on July 7, "Keep an eye on this prime GOP pickup opportunity in South Texas that’s ready to be flipped red."

KXAN reached out Tuesday morning to Gonzalez's office for comment about potentially facing Flores again next year. This story will be updated once any responses are shared.