2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election was held on June 14, 2022.[2] The seat, which went to Democratic president Joe Biden by only four points in the 2020 United States presidential election after being solidly blue in the past, became vacant after Democratic incumbent representative Filemon Vela Jr. resigned on March 31, 2022, to work at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.[3]
.jpg)
 | ||||||||||||||||
June 14, 2022
| ||||||||||||||||
Texas's 34th congressional district | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 7.36%[1] | |||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
 County results Flores: 40–50% 50–60% 70–80% 80–90% Sanchez: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Republican candidate Mayra Flores won outright with 51% of the vote.[4] Although Democrat Dan Sanchez was able to hold on to the Hidalgo County portion of the district by nine points, as well as flip Kenedy County after it went to Donald Trump in 2020, this was not enough to overcome Flores's gains in Cameron and Willacy Counties, resulting in them narrowly flipping red in this race after going to Biden by double digits in the 2020 contest. Flores was also able to shore up support in the district's northern rural counties, which typically voted Republican in the past. Flores became the first Republican to represent parts of the Rio Grande Valley since Blake Farenthold flipped the 27th district in 2010.
Candidates
Democratic Party
Declared
- Rene Coronado, civil service director[5]
- Dan Sanchez, former Cameron County commissioner[6]
Declined
- Vicente Gonzalez, U.S. Representative for Texas's 15th congressional district and nominee for this district in the 2022 regular election[7][8] (endorsed Sanchez)[5]
Republican Party
Declared
- Juana Cantu-Cabrera, former Palmhurst city councilor and candidate for this district in the 2022 regular election[5][9]
- Mayra Flores, respiratory care practitioner, Hidalgo County GOP Hispanic outreach chair, and nominee for this district in the 2022 regular election[10][8]
Endorsements
U.S. Representatives
- Elise Stefanik, U.S. Representative from New York's 21st congressional district (2015–present) and Chair of the House Republican Conference (2021–present)[11]
State officials
- Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas (2015–present)[5]
- Matt Rinaldi, chair of the Republican Party of Texas (2021–present) and former state representative (2015–2019)[5]
Organizations
Others
- Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Inc.[5]
- Peter Thiel, Venture capitalist[5]
U.S. Representatives
- Vicente Gonzalez, U.S. Representative from Texas's 15th congressional district (2017–present)[5]
- Filemon Vela Jr., former U.S. Representative from Texas's 34th congressional district (2013–2022)[5]
Organizations
Special election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[13] | Tossup | April 8, 2022 |
| Inside Elections[14] | Tossup | June 3, 2022 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[15] | Lean R (flip) | March 30, 2022 |
Polling
Fundraising
| Campaign finance reports | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Amount raised | Amount spent | Cash on hand |
| Mayra Flores (R) | $1,722,406 | $1,608,423 | $113,983 |
| Daniel Sanchez (D) | $173,668 | $173,668 | $0 |
| Source: OpenSecrets[18] | |||
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mayra Flores | 14,799 | 50.91 | ||
| Democratic | Dan Sanchez | 12,606 | 43.37 | ||
| Democratic | Rene Coronado | 1,210 | 4.16 | ||
| Republican | Juana Cantu-Cabrera | 454 | 1.56 | ||
| Total votes | 29,069 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered electors | 395,025 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
By county | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
Notes
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
Partisan clients
- Poll sponsored jointly by the National Republican Congressional Committee and Flores's campaign committee