{"id":1511408,"date":"2022-06-11T22:35:58","date_gmt":"2022-06-12T02:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1511408"},"modified":"2022-06-11T22:36:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-12T02:36:06","slug":"republicans-eye-chance-for-historic-win-in-deep-blue-texas-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-eye-chance-for-historic-win-in-deep-blue-texas-district\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Eye Chance for Historic Win in Deep-Blue Texas District"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-eye-chance-for-historic-win-in-deep-blue-texas-district%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1511408&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas Congressional District 34 up for grabs in highly contested special election<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Rio Grande Valley <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-republican\">Republican<\/a> Mayra Flores believes she\u2019s poised to flip deep-blue Texas Congressional District 34 red in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-special-election\">special election<\/a> for a U.S. House of Representatives seat on June 14.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going to win South Texas. We\u2019re going to win Cameron County,\u201d Flores, of Harlingen, told The Epoch Times. If she\u2019s successful, it will represent a seismic political shift in deep-blue South Texas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur values align with the Republican Party,\u201d she told The Epoch Times, pointing to her strong beliefs in God, family, and America. \u201cThe Democratic Party has taken us for granted for so many years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This spring, District 34 was vacated by Rep. Filemon Vela\u00a0(D-Texas) when he resigned to work for Akin Gump, a Washington law and lobbying firm. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, called for a special election to fill the vacancy left by Vela.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1334706\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2015\/04\/26\/Texas-Launch-Site_Chas-1200x976.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1334706\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2015\/04\/26\/Texas-Launch-Site_Chas-600x488.jpg\" alt=\"In a Sept. 22, 2014 file photo, U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, left, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, center, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry turn the first shovel-full of sand at the groundbreaking ceremony for the SpaceX launch pad at Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The SpaceX venture, led by PayPal co-founder and electric car maker Musk, is one of two parts of the 21st-century space race being directed in the Texas by Internet billionaires.(AP Photo\/Valley Morning Star, David Pike)\" width=\"600\" height=\"488\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela (L), SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) at the groundbreaking ceremony for the SpaceX launch pad at Boca Chica Beach, Texas, on Sept. 22, 2014. (AP Photo\/Valley Morning Star, David Pike)<\/figure>\n<p>Flores\u2014a respiratory care practitioner and a Hidalgo County GOP chair\u2014is considered the Republican front-runner. Abbott and Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi have endorsed Flores as the Republican nominee for the full term in the 34th District race as well.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Sanchez, an attorney and former Cameron County commissioner from Harlingen, is considered the Democratic front-runner, receiving the endorsement of Vela and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez\u00a0(D-Texas)\u2014the Democratic nominee for the full term in the 34th District.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Juana Cant\u00fa-Cabrera, of South Padre Island, and Democrat Rene Coronado, of Harlingen, are the remaining candidates running in the special election. To win, one of the four candidates has to receive more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff in mid-August.<\/p>\n<p>The winner will finish Vela\u2019s term ending in January 2023. A general election for the newly redrawn Congressional district, which is much more favorable for a Democratic win, will be held this fall.<\/p>\n<p>Even if Flores wins the seat temporarily, she faces a tough race against Gonzalez, a moderate Blue Dog Democrat, who opted out of running for the special election.<\/p>\n<p>Gonzalez is switching districts because the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature redrew the South Texas voter map, moving his McAllen home from District 15 into District 34.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4349439\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/03\/20\/GettyImages-1232016127.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-medium wp-image-4349439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-1232016127-600x400-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4349439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-1232016127-600x400-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> A coyote human smuggler (R) guides an inflatable boat carrying migrants from Central America arriving illegally from Mexico to the United States to seek asylum, on the Rio Grande river at the border city of Roma, Texas, on March 29, 2021. (Ed Jones\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, Republicans have been pumping money into the Flores campaign in light of favorable early polling conducted by Ragnar Research Partners for her campaign and the National Republican Congressional Committee.<\/p>\n<p>The poll showed that voters favored Flores by 24 percent to Sanchez\u2019s 19 percent. However, 41 percent of voters polled were undecided. The margin of error was 4.9 percentage points, with a sample size of 400 likely voters.<\/p>\n<p>The same survey showed a generic Republican beating a generic Democrat, 45 percent to 42 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Flores believes she has widened her early lead in the poll by working nonstop, while supporters have knocked on thousands of doors on her behalf.<\/p>\n<p>According to Federal Election Commission data, her campaign has spent nearly $1 million, while Sanchez spent about $42,000.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4516505\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/06\/07\/image-1200x1988.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4516505 size-medium_vertical\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-211x350-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"211\" height=\"350\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4516505 size-medium_vertical\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-211x350-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"211\" height=\"350\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Juana Cant\u00fa-Cabrera (R) is running in the special election for Texas Congressional District 34. She believes in fighting socialism and upholding constitutional rights for Americans. (Courtesy of Cant\u00fa-Cabrera)<\/figure>\n<p>Ragnar polling data showed that the top two issues for district voters are the economy and border security\u2014which agrees with what Flores said she\u2019s hearing on the ground from voters.<\/p>\n<p>Flores, a legal immigrant from Mexico whose husband is a border patrol agent, feels there\u2019s a better way to handle the illegal immigration crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really inhumane\u2014kids being abandoned in the middle of nowhere,\u201d she said, adding that the crisis has led to an increase in child trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy opponent is focused on poverty,\u201d she said of Sanchez, adding that Democrats have produced skyrocketing gasoline and grocery prices that make it hard for Latino families to make ends meet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m focused on prosperity\u2014people before politics. My life is with God, my family, and community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Flores said she also wants to strengthen school security in light of the Uvalde shooting\u2014an issue that has hit home with moms like her across the state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way Washington rushed billions of dollars to Ukraine\u2014I\u2019d like to see billions go to schools,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Sanchez, who labels himself a conservative Democrat, didn\u2019t return phone calls or emails requesting comment. His campaign manager, Colin Steele, told The Epoch Times he wouldn\u2019t be made available to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Republican challenger Juana Cant\u00fa-Cabrera, a nurse practitioner who still has Trump stickers on her truck, told The Epoch Times she decided to run for office after seeing a decline in American freedoms and a rise in socialist ideas, such as critical race theory.<\/p>\n<p>However, bread-and-butter issues dominate the minds of South Texans, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Being in the health field has opened her eyes to the hardship many people face under President Joe Biden\u2019s economy, with soaring energy costs leaving people struggling to pay for essentials such as medication.<\/p>\n<p>Cant\u00fa-Cabrera said the border is an issue because the people crossing illegally are no longer coming in from just Mexico\u2014but from around the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBiden is creating chaos. It\u2019s like he wants to divide our country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Cant\u00fa-Cabrera acknowledged she\u2019s an underdog against Flores. However, she has no intention of supporting a Flores win in the general election because she thinks Flores relies on identity politics.<\/p>\n<p>Coronado, who retired from the military and is running as a moderate Democrat, told The Epoch Times he wants to serve the people of South Texas even if it\u2019s only for a few months. His main issues for running are to \u201creturn power to the people and land to the people\u201d and make cryptocurrency legal tender.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4516624\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/06\/07\/Rene-military-IMG_1754.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4516624 size-medium_vertical\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Rene-military-IMG_1754-239x350-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"239\" height=\"350\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4516624 size-medium_vertical\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Rene-military-IMG_1754-239x350-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"239\" height=\"350\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Rene Coronado, a moderate Democrat with a military background, said he would use common sense, not party politics, to guide him should he win the Texas Congressional District 34 special election. (Courtesy of Rene Coronado)<\/figure>\n<p>Coronado said oil prices and controlling inflation would be a key goal if elected, adding that he would focus on lowering oil prices by unleashing American oil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do agree with Elon Musk that we need to drill now,\u201d Coronado said, adding that while the goal may be to increase renewable energy, the country isn\u2019t there yet.<\/p>\n<p>Coronado, who agrees that many Hispanics in South Texas hold conservative values, doesn\u2019t think political parties should stand in the way of common sense decisions from those on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to work together to make America great again. I know Trump says America first. I say people first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Coronado, who said he seriously weighed whether to run as a Democrat or Republican, thinks Flores may be the key to a Republican victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf there\u2019s going to be a Republican who is going to flip the district, it\u2019s going to be because of her efforts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4337995\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/03\/15\/I-did-that-sticker-on-gas-pump-1200x900.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-medium wp-image-4337995\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/I-did-that-sticker-on-gas-pump-600x450-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4337995\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/I-did-that-sticker-on-gas-pump-600x450-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Gas station employees in Gainesville, Fla., say they keep removing stickers from gas pumps that show President Joe Biden with the words \u201cI did that!\u201d but replacement stickers quickly reappear. (Nanette Holt\/The Epoch Times)<\/figure>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-darlene-sanchez\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WEB_DarleneSanchez.jpg\" alt=\"Darlene McCormick Sanchez\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Congressional District 34 up for grabs in highly contested special electionRio Grande Valley Republican Mayra Flores believes she\u2019s poised to flip deep-blue Texas Congressional District 34 red in a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1511408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1511408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1511408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1511408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1511408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}