Republican Mayra Flores hauls in $861,000 for Texas bid to unseat Democrat Vicente Gonzalez

EXCLUSIVE — Former Rep. Mayra Flores pocketed over $860,000 in donations between July and September as the Texas Republican looks to unseat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) in 2024, according to fundraising figures shared with the Washington Examiner.

Flores, who was born in Mexico and announced her candidacy in July, won a 2022 special election to represent the 34th Congressional District in Texas prior to it being redrawn, though she later lost that year in the general election to Gonzalez by about 11,400 votes. During the third quarter of this year, under 20,000 contributors gave an average of $20, the Flores campaign said.

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“I’m very proud of the work we did in South Texas in 2022,” Flores told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “We actually overperformed, but, unfortunately, we didn’t have a red wave. Now, our campaign has so much momentum, because we’re standing up for border security, lower costs, fighting for better education for kids, and just safer communities.”

Flores added, “I’m seeing in the Hispanic community that they’re leaving the Democrat Party, and that they’re joining our movement. We’re going to keep working hard every day sharing our message, talking to voters, and delivering on solutions that improve quality of life here in South Texas.”

News of the Flores campaign’s fundraising comes as Republicans, including the National Republican Congressional Committee, look to paint Gonzalez as downplaying the illegal immigrant crisis on the United States-Mexico border. The 34th Congressional District includes areas between the cities of Brownsville and Corpus Christi, which have large Hispanic populations, and which saw a 27.5% shift in favor of Republicans between 2016 and 2022, according to the NRCC. The NRCC in May commissioned a poll that found Flores leading Gonzalez 42.4% to 41.7% in a head-to-head.

Gonzalez has come under fire from the GOP for voting against legislation aiming to require the Department of Homeland Security to resume border wall construction, while in the past claiming that “a medieval wall was not the solution for a 21st-century problem” and adding, “I oppose any wall that is an ineffective and waste of taxpayer dollars.”

(AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

A senior adviser to the Flores campaign said they expect the candidate’s third quarter haul to be one of the highest among Republican House challengers, if not the most. Pressed on her policy priorities, Flores pointed to the need for border security.

“What we’ve seen happen in Israel should be eye-opening for everyone in the United States,” she told the Washington Examiner, referring to the deadly terrorist attack carried out by Hamas against the Jewish state. “In the last three years, we’ve seen terrorists coming into our country and apprehended by our Border Patrol agents. But we don’t know how many terrorists are coming into the country that were not caught. Someday, we’re going to find out, and it’s not going to be a good day for America.”

Flores also talked about Mexican cartels, noting they’re in “full control of the southern border.” As far as the Israel-Gaza conflict, she slammed the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds on Sept. 11. Iran backs Hamas and, according to reports, helped the terrorist group plan its recent attack.

“I foresee another 9/11 happening because we have not been protecting our borders,” Flores said in the interview. “We’re not prepared. We’re seeing what’s happened in Israel. Imagine something like that happening in our own country. Are we prepared?

“This is the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” she added. “The scenes coming out of Israel are horrific. These vile terrorists from Hamas slaughtering innocent women and children need to be eradicated.”

The Gonzalez campaign did not return a request for comment.

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Flores has racked up endorsements from top House Republicans, including Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The 34th Congressional District leans blue in 2024, according to the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan elections tracker.

In mid-July, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a memo dubbing Gonzalez a “popular incumbent.” The memo said: “If Flores, running from the position of an incumbent, couldn’t hold on to this seat in what was supposed to be a red wave election for Republicans, there’s no way she’ll be successful in a presidential election year against Gonzalez.”