One of the most interesting Senate races in November is going to take place in the state of Texas, where Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred will try to unseat the controversial Republican Senator Ted Cruz. With direct support from President Joe Biden and millions of dollars in funding, Allred aims to win against Cruz, who has been holding the position since 2013. Ted Cruz has managed to keep the position for so long, mostly because Texas is seen as a stronghold for Republicans.
The numbers
A recent poll found that Senator Ted Cruz holds a significant advantage over Democratic challenger Colin Allred. The Cygnal poll shows Cruz leading with 45 percent of the vote compared to Allred’s 36 percent. Cruz is nine points ahead, according to the results of the poll that asked 1,000 likely voters in Texas from April 4 to April 6. Ted Cruz easily won the primary race in February and immediately called on Republicans to unify and fight against the radical left.
Republicans are trying to unseat a Democrat
Colin Allred challenging Ted Cruz is not going to be the only interesting race, if we judge by the recent funding efforts of another Republican candidate in Texas. The 34th Congressional District seems to be another interesting race where former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores will try to unseat Democratic opponent Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. Although a long shot, Flores appears to have huge support from Republican donors, who have invested heavily since the beginning of the year.
The details
In the first three months of this year, former Republican U.S. Representative Mayra Flores collected significantly more campaign contributions than her Democratic rival, Representative Vicente Gonzalez. This development has boosted Republican hopes of gaining control in an area traditionally held by Democrats. Representing her campaign for the 34th Congressional District, Flores managed to raise over $1.1 million from January to March, based on records from the Federal Election Commission. In contrast, Gonzalez raised over $449,000 during the same period. Despite this, Gonzalez had more funds available, ending the quarter with over $1.4 million, while Flores had about $786,000.
The 34th Congressional District in the focus
The 34th district, located east of McAllen in the Rio Grande Valley, is a key focus for Republicans this year. The National Republican Congressional Committee has actively supported Flores’ candidacy, having encouraged her to run for the seat again after last year.
“Mayra Flores has been crushing Vicente Gonzalez since the day she entered the race, demonstrating the enthusiasm for her campaign,” said NRCC spokesperson Delanie Bomar in a statement digging into Gonzalez’s votes on Democratic legislation.
Gonzalez won the seat two years ago
Gonzalez secured his position by defeating Flores in the 2022 general election. Flores had won a special election to take over the seat from Representative Filemon Vela earlier that year, after he resigned to pursue a lobbying career. Previously, Gonzalez served the McAllen-based 15th Congressional District, which was redrawn to increase electoral competition. In the same election cycle, Republican Representative Monica De La Cruz was victorious in the 15th district.
Playing on the ‘illegal immigration’ card
Republicans are highly motivated to expand their influence in South Texas, believing their focus on border security and opposition to President Joe Biden’s economic policies will appeal to voters there. They celebrated the electoral victories of Flores in the 2022 special election and De La Cruz in the general election as evidence that the Democratic hold on the region is not secure.
Democrats, however, maintain that the 34th district remains predominantly Democratic. They argue that Flores’ victory in the special election was only possible because national Democratic groups did not invest heavily, knowing the seat would be contested again soon. In the subsequent general election, Gonzalez defeated Flores by more than 8 percentage points, thanks to significant financial support from Democratic national organizations, which matched Republican fundraising efforts.
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More money coming in
After his 2022 victory, Gonzalez had a considerable amount of campaign funds remaining, with over $303,000 left. In a recent statement, Gonzalez downplayed the significance of the funds raised by Republicans in the first quarter, pointing out the continuous financial support from national Republican sources to the district.
“We’re keeping up with our fundraising goals. It really doesn’t matter how much money out-of-state Republicans raise for her,” Gonzalez said. “This November, District 34 will once again reject Mayra and her extreme views that just don’t reflect South Texas values.”
