AUSTIN, Texas — Three conservative Hispanic women in Texas are poised to make history on Election Day and snatch up three congressional districts on the Mexican border that have traditionally bled blue.
The “Triple Threat” — Monica De La Cruz, Rep. Mayra Flores, and Cassy Garcia — seek to do what Republicans have never before done: convince these heavily Hispanic districts to back GOP candidates who look like them and share the same values of faith, family, and freedom.
“Much like 2020 was the year of the Republican woman, this is going to be the year of the Latina Republican,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) told the Washington Examiner in late October.
Republicans are not just hopeful about winning — they are confident a victory is on the horizon. Statewide polling of registered voters showed that securing the border outperformed all other issues as the biggest concern heading into the midterm elections.
The Triple Threat campaigned heavily on getting control of immigration and border security, a messaging strategy they believe can propel them to victory.
De La Cruz, who is running in Texas’s 15th Congressional District against newcomer Michelle Vallejo, told campaign volunteers in September that she had already reserved a bloc of hotel rooms in Washington for when she would be sworn into office in January 2023. A win for her would be the first time in over a century the 15th District went to a Republican.
Of the three Republicans, she has the best chance of winning. The Cook Political Report rated her race as “Likely Republican.” She is also the only one that former President Donald Trump has endorsed.
“There is right now not a lot of room for you in the national Democrat Party because they have moved so far left to a progressive socialist movement. So people are waking up here in South Texas, and they have role models in congresswoman Mayra Flores, myself, and Cassy where we look and sound and reflect their values,” De La Cruz said in a recent interview. “There will be a red wave in all three districts come November 2022.”
The Triple Threat aims to be the conservative equivalent of the progressive “Squad,” whose original four members were elected in 2018.
“It’s the perfect storm but the right storm,” Garcia, the GOP nominee for the 28th District, where incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is seeking a 10th term, said. “It’s exciting to see so many Hispanics embracing the Republican Party, and this is an extremely positive development that’s good for our community and our party. Hispanics are commonsense voters. We believe in the American dream and hard work, personal responsibility, and the importance of faith.”
The three South Texas Republicans are among 33 Hispanic House candidates on the ballot. At present, 13 House Republicans are Hispanic. A big win across the caucus on Tuesday could double or nearly triple that figure overnight.
Trump has only endorsed one of the three but praised each woman during a rally in Robstown, Texas, on Oct. 22, though none of the women were in the crowd due to prescheduled events.
“The Republican Party is now the proud home of a new generation of Hispanic leaders like Cassy Garcia. … Monica De La Cruz, a real star,” Trump said during his speech. “Mayra Flores, who recently became the first Republican ever to win her congressional district on the border — first ever. She’s fantastic, smart, all of them.
“To every Hispanic American in Texas, Arizona, and all across the land, we welcome you to our party and to our movement with open, open, beautiful, strong arms,” Trump said.
The New York Times described Flores as a “far-right Latina.” Flores said the characterization was inaccurate.
“It amazes me that because my values are rooted in God, Family, and Country, the liberal media takes it upon themselves to attack me and label me ‘far-right’. But at least they used the word ‘Latina’ over their other made-up terms,” Flores wrote in a statement on Twitter.
All three women were named in the New York Times piece and defended their views — most of which are straight out of Trump’s playbook. Each candidate has chided President Joe Biden for high inflation and the unaddressed influx of nearly 4 million illegal immigrants encountered at the southern border since he took office.
Each candidate is anti-abortion, pro-border wall, and conservative on social issues.
“Instead of hiring 87,000 IRS agents, we should have hired 87,000 Border Patrol agents to secure our borders,” Flores told the Washington Examiner.
Border concerns historically have been a tricky issue for both parties because most illegal immigrants arrested at the border are Hispanic.
However, Flores proved in June that taking a strong approach against illegal immigration could sway Hispanic Americans in border communities to the Republicans’ side. The respiratory care practitioner and Hidalgo County GOP Hispanic outreach chairwoman won a special election for the Gulf Coast adjacent region and became the first elected Republican member of Congress in the region and the first Mexican-born female member of Congress.
Flores will have to defend her win against incumbent Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), who is running in the 34th District after redistricting turned his 15th District redder. De La Cruz has run for Gonzalez’s old district once before and hopes to lock it down this time around. A win for De La Cruz would mark the first time in 119 years that the seat went red.
Flores is not endorsed by Trump. Her race is a toss-up, according to the Cook Political Report.
Although none of the three current districts have gone to Republicans, former GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold was elected in 2010 to represent the 27th Congressional District, which redistricting later turned into the brand new 34th Congressional District, according to the Congressional Directory. Prior to Farenthold, the only other Republican to hold office in the southernmost part of Texas was Edward Degener from 1870 to 1871.
Furthest west is the 28th District, where Cuellar barely beat out progressive primary candidate Jessica Cisneros in two recounts and historically has not faced serious challenges from Democrats or Republicans. But both Democrats and Republicans smelled blood in the water after the FBI raided Cuellar’s home in January.
Cuellar’s challenger, Garcia, worked as deputy state director for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) until deciding to make a run for office last year. She was appointed by Trump to lead the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.
The Cook Political Report rated the race as leaning toward Cuellar, but RealClearPolitics marked it as a toss-up.
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The three women have much in common, having grown up in the Rio Grande Valley. De La Cruz is Garcia’s and Flores’s insurance agent.
“We know each other. We spent time together. We support each other, and now we have become, because of our strong bond, the Triple Threat,” De La Cruz said in an interview. “We are all standing for faith, family, and love of country.”
