Texas Republican Mayra Flores announces campaign to return to Congress
Flores was unseated in 2022 by Democratic opponent Vicente Gonzalez
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Texas Rep. Mayra Flores is running for Congress in 2024, launching a bid to reclaim the seat she lost in the last midterm election.
Flores — who was unseated by Democratic opponent Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in 2022 — told "Fox & Friends" she was running to "flip the district" and "take back what's ours."
"I am announcing for Congress," Flores said in the Tuesday morning interview. "We are taking back our seat, Texas District 34."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}I'M IN SOUTH TEXAS WHERE WE KNOW BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS FIRSTHAND
"I'm very excited, and I have a lot of faith in God, in my family, in my amazing team, that we will flip this district and take back what is ours in 2024," Flores told "Fox & Friends." "The people of South Texas, the American people, deserve to have a voice in Washington."
Former Rep. Mayra Flores, left, and her 2022 Democratic opponent Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, right. (ALLISON DINNER/AFP, Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Flores spent a significant amount of time in her campaign announcement talking about her promise to combat child trafficking.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We want to empower our Border Patrol agents, strengthen our border security — of course our economy as well. And protect the children, like I mentioned before, that are being trafficked in this country right now," Flores told "Fox and Friends."
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"And if we want to eradicate child trafficking, we need to hold accountable the Biden administration for losing track of 85,000 children," Flores continued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The former congresswoman was referencing a report frequently cited by the House Oversight Committee, which found that the Office of Refugee Resettlement lost contact with 85,000 minors after bringing them across the border.
Then-Texas congressional candidate Mayra Flores speaks during a news conference to announce the formation of the Hispanic Leadership Trust at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"And so this is for our children, for the future, for their parents, and also for these children that are being brought into the United States as well, to be trafficked," she added.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When asked why Latinos should trust the Republican Party, Flores said that she believed the party was fundamentally more aligned with the community's values than the Democratic Party.
"Our values align with the Republican Party. Our values align," Flores replied. "I am pro-God, pro-life, pro-family. People say all the time, 'Mayra, why are you conservative?' I was born in Mexico — we were raised with strong conservative values, to always put God and family first."