BROWNSVILLE, Texas—Campaign signs waving in the breeze outside Burns Elementary School outnumbered voters trickling in June 14 to cast their ballots in a closely watched Texas Congressional special election that could flip the district red.
A mixed bag of voters showed up at the school to select one of four candidates vying for the vacant seat.
Mayra Flores, a legal immigrant from Mexico who is married to a border patrol agent, is considered the Republican frontrunner. Her main Democratic challenger is Dan Sanchez, an attorney and former Cameron County commissioner. The other two candidates are Juana Cantu-Cabrera (R), and Rene Coronado (D).
The winner will replace former Congressman Filemon Vela (D-Brownsville), who resigned this spring to work for Akin Gump, a Washington law and lobbying firm. His term will end in January 2023.
Flores and Sanchez will square off again in the 2022 midterm election this November.
Outside the school, Aurelio Lozano said he voted for Flores, whose campaign has received lots of attention in the heavily blue Rio Grande Valley.
Lozano, dressed in a dark T-shirt with Fox News emblazoned on the front, told The Epoch Times that Flores supporters knocked on his door yesterday. He said he has always been a Republican, even before the 2020 election saw several areas of South Texas vote red. He feels Republicans are making inroads into the area.
“I’ve heard more young people talking about they just want a change,” he said.
A Vietnam Veteran and his wife, who didn’t want to give their names, both voted for Sanchez because they feel he knows the valley area best. The couple said they were Democrats, but had crossed party lines and voted Republican at times.
Later, another woman wearing a Trump T-shirt walked by. Another conservative voter, Raul Garcia, said he selected Flores because he liked her best of all the candidates.
Eric Connor said he came out to vote after seeing some people on social media talk about the election. Conner said he wasn’t voting for Flores.
However, Connor expressed disappointment with the Democrats, saying they take people in the Rio Grande Valley for granted. But on the Republican side, he saw them make a big push for Flores.
Before noon, Sanchez showed up at the school holding a campaign sign as he waved to people driving by. He gave a thumbs-up sign to motorists who honked in support. Sanchez’s handler declined an interview request.
Meanwhile, Flores turned to social media, asking her supporters to come out and vote. She encouraged them to share the post in hopes of motiving last-minute voters.
Flores, who ran on a platform of God, family, and country, was still working into the evening of June 13 rallying her supporters.
At City Church in Harlingen, banners hung from the ceiling inside a humble metal building with a gravel parking lot. “Make America Godly Again” and “Jesus is King” greeted visitors.
Republican candidate Cassy Garcia showed up to support Flores at the rally. Garcia wants to flip Texas Congressional District 28 red, and both candidates have worked together.
The crowd jumped to their feet as Flores began to speak, clapping enthusiastically. She talked about the economy and how elderly residents in South Texas struggled even to buy gasoline.
Flores spoke of change and how she grew up in a family that only voted Democratic. When she matured, she realized that her conservative values aligned better with Republicans.
“It’s about getting people to vote Republican. If we lose Texas, we lose our country,” she said. “We’re going to be able to inspire Hispanics all over Texas, all over the United States.”
Garcia also spoke at the rally, saying her team came to help door-knock for Flores. Garcia said the Democrats have brought 40-year-high inflation, gas over $5 a gallon, and caravans of migrants crossing illegally into Texas.
The Republicans want prosperity, she said.
“All eyes are on South Texas,” she said.
“We’re going to flip three seats,” Garcia told the crowd.
Garcia is running in District 28 to unseat Henry Cuellar, a conservative Democrat who is claiming victory in the primary race but is in a recount for the spot with his Democratic challenger Jessica Cisneros.
A third Latina Republican candidate, Monica De La Cruz, hopes to best the Democrat in Texas Congressional District 15.
At the end of the rally, Pastor Luis Cabrera came on stage to wrap them in a gold-and-white prayer shawl before asking God to bless them.
“Mayra’s going to be the first wave,” Cabrera said. “We have a message from South Texas with a red bow on it.”
