Scoop: Republican launches House bid in key swing district GOP aims to flip in 2026 midterms

FIRST ON FOX: Eric Flores, an Army veteran and former federal prosecutor, on Monday launched a Republican campaign for Congress in a key battleground House district at the southern tip of Texas.

"We need fewer politicians and more fighters who will put our communities first," Flores said in a video that was shared first with Fox News Digital.

He pledged that "in Congress, I'll stand with President Trump, fight and deliver for South Texas every single day."

Flores is running in Texas' 34th Congressional District, which stretches along the Gulf Coast from just south of Corpus Christi to the border with Mexico. It includes Brownsville and stretches westward to include parts of McAllen.

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The district is one of 26 the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting in the 2026 midterm elections, as the House GOP's campaign arm defends the party's razor-thin majority in the chamber.

The district appears to be a prime pickup possibility for Republicans, as it's been trending to the right. Former President Joe Biden carried the district by 15 points in the 2020 White House race. Four years later, President Donald Trump won the district by nearly five points.

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However, Democrats carried the district in last year's Senate election, with now-former Rep. Colin Allred (who is running again for the Senate in 2026) topping Sen. Ted Cruz by six points.

Republicans view incumbent Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez as vulnerable. Gonzalez, who's in his fifth term in Congress, defeated former GOP Rep. Mayra Flores in the 2022 and 2024 elections, but his victory in last November's rematch to hold the district was by just 2.5 points.

Flores, who has met with NRCC officials, is a Spanish speaker who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. 

He was commissioned in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and rose to the rank of captain. He has served in the Texas Army National Guard and has commanded soldiers during Operation Guardian Support along the U.S. southern border with neighboring Mexico.

Flores is also a former assistant U.S. attorney, helping in the prosecutions of cartel-connected and human trafficking operations. His campaign biography also notes that Flores "secured the conviction of one of Texas’s ‘Top Ten’ most-wanted fugitives — accomplishments recognized with two U.S. Attorney’s Awards."

Flores, who also served as a municipal judge in Alton, Texas, is currently a partner at a statewide legal firm where he leads the litigation department, defending municipalities and school districts across Texas. He is married and the father of two children.

"Every day, I see how broken policies hurt our community," Flores said. "Enough is enough. Politicians put themselves first, while the Valley gets left behind."

Flores said that "President Trump stood up to the insiders and fought for places like ours: the communities the career politicians always forget. We cannot lose this opportunity. That’s why I’m running for Congress. We need bold, principled leadership, and we need it now."

While several other Republicans are running in the GOP primary in the district next March, Flores is considered the only major Republican candidate.