First on Fox: Mexico-born first MP will launch her comeback bid on Tuesday, setting her sights on a Democrat who Republicans see as one of the most vulnerable home residents of 2026.
“Unfortunately, in the Spanish-speaking community, we don’t have that many voices on TV – on TV – talk about amazing work with the Spanish-speaking community President Trump Former Rep. Mayra Flores of R-Texas told Fox News Digital in an interview before the announcement.
“It’s something I feel I’m obliged to do because there’s a lot of misinformation spreading from the left and they try to instill fear and hatred in the Hispanic community.”
Flores served in Congress for about six months from late June 2022 to early January 2023, Texas’s 34th Congress District went from blue to red after winning a special election to replace former Ex-Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., D-Texas.
Will this blue state Republican end his 20-year winning streak in the Republican state?
Former Rep. Mayra Flores set his sights on Texas’ 28th Congress District, represented by Rep. Henry Cuellar. (Getty Image)
She lost re-election of D-Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Their rematch Flores is less than 3% of Gonzalez’s victory.
However, Flores’ 2026 bid is designed to challenge another Democrat. The former Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital that she intends to run for the 28th Congressional District in Loredo, Texas, which is currently represented by D-Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar.
Cuellar is separated from his party on issues such as border security, crime and abortion.
He has served in Congress since 2005, with victory ranging from thousands of votes to profit margins of up to 30%.
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Cuellar recently claimed he had committed a series of corruption charges in federal indictment last November with less than 6% win (or about 13,000 votes).
“It’s about what Mayra Flores wants. This is what this country needs me to do. This country needs me to run at Texas 28 and win this seat,” Flores said. “This is a seat that can be flipped in 2026. Now, we need a bigger majority. This makes it hard for President Trump to get anything with such a small majority.”
Flores said she is very familiar with the area and has family relationships with the area.
Former Rep. Mayra Flores and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (Allison Dinner/AFP | Bill Clark/CQ-ROLL via Get Topage Phone)
Besides the seats are viable opportunities for the Republican Party, she also pointed to Criminal prosecution In a debate over Cuellar, she noted that he has been in office since he was one year old and served in the Texas State House in 1986.
“At the end of the day, I don’t care what party he is, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” Flores said. “As a member, it’s… a position you can help a lot of people and you can represent the entire region. Yet he threw it all away. It’s not worth your doing to your country.”
When the indictment was announced, Kurlar denied part of him or his wife in the statement.
“I want to make it clear that my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I do in Congress is for the people of South Texas,” Cuellar said in May 2024.
“Before taking any action, I actively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, which gave me more than one written opinion, as well as additional advice from a national law firm,” he said. “The actions I took in Congress are consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and for the benefit of the American people. In addition, we requested meetings with the Washington, D.C. Attorneys to explain the facts, who refused to discuss with us or listen to our case.”
Former Rep. Mayra Flores entered service from June 2022 to early January 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Flores said she intends to focus on agriculture and economic issues when asked about her desire to serve again in Congress.
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“At the end of the day, money is important. Without money, you can’t have shelter, you can’t have cars, you can’t provide children. So the economy is my top priority,” Flores said. “Of course, agriculture is my passion. I’m a farm worker. My parents are immigrant workers. We travel a lot. I believe our farm workers need to be given priority.”
She compared her push to agriculture with the Republican stance on U.S. energy independence.
“We talk about independence, for oil and gas, I agree 100%. But we also need to have nothing to do with food,” Flores said.
