Now that the Texas Legislature has approved a redrawn congressional map, former Rep. Mayra Flores said Wednesday that she will return to Texas' 34th Congressional District to challenge Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, in 2026, abandoning her earlier bid in the 28th District to challenge incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.
"Texas' 34th District has become one of the top GOP pickup opportunities in the country," Flores, a Republican, wrote on social media, The Texas Tribune reported Wednesday. "This race is not over, and our mission is far from complete. I have unfinished business."
Flores briefly represented the 34th District in 2022 after winning a special election, and she launched a campaign last year against Cuellar. Her decision to switch districts comes just days after the new congressional map was approved, bolstering GOP prospects in South Texas.
The map alters the 34th District significantly. Anchored in Cameron County along the U.S.-Mexico border, the district includes the cities of Brownsville and Harlingen. With the redistricting, it now stretches north to cover parts of Nueces County and Corpus Christi, while dropping portions of Hidalgo County and McAllen.
With its new boundaries, Republicans estimate the district would have favored their party more strongly in 2024, when President Donald Trump carried it by about 10 points. That margin underscores why the seat is now one of the GOP's strongest targets.
Gonzalez acknowledged in July that redistricting could complicate his reelection bid. "The only way Republicans can beat me is by cheating and changing the district maps," Gonzalez told The Texas Tribune.
Flores is the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress. She immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a child and became a U.S. citizen. A respiratory therapist by training, she gained national attention in June 2022 when she won a special election to fill a vacancy in the 34th District. Her victory marked the first time in more than a century that a Republican flipped the seat.
In November 2022, Gonzalez, who had shifted into the 34th District after his former seat was redrawn to favor Republicans, defeated Flores in the general election. Their rematch in 2024 was closer: Gonzalez won reelection by fewer than 3 percentage points, even with Trump carrying the district in the presidential contest.
Flores is not the only Republican in the field. Eric Flores, an Army veteran who is not related to her, entered the race in July.
Mayra Flores, whose platform emphasizes parental control over education, border security, and economic growth, was endorsed by Trump in 2024 and is expected to maintain his backing as she enters the 34th District race.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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