The district was redrawn last year to be safer for Democrats and would have had a Biden margin of 16 points. The special election would be under the boundaries of the previous, more competitive 34th District, which President Joe Biden carried by only 4 percentage points in 2020. He said Thursday he would resign in the coming weeks to work for Akin Gump, a prominent law and lobbying firm. Vela already announced he was not seeking reelection in the 34th Congressional District, which stretches from outside San Antonio south to the Rio Grande Valley. “Republicans talk a big game about flipping seats in South Texas, but this is the party that voted against historic infrastructure investments and creating good-paying jobs in the Valley,” Monica Robinson, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement. The National Republican Congressional Committee called Vela’s early exit the latest sign that the national environment is unfavorable for Democrats - and that “South Texas is a top battleground for Republicans.” Democrats scoffed. The winner of the special election will get to serve for only a short period, but Republicans are already eyeing the election as an opportunity to show their growing strength in the region. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, revealed Thursday he plans to leave Congress early. “We have been working very hard in South Texas for years,” said Flores.Democrats are suddenly staring down a special election in South Texas, an increasingly competitive region, after U.S. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-15), who currently represents a neighboring district and reportedly will not run in the special election. While still leaning toward Democrats, South Texas has seen a strong shift toward Republicans in recent election cycles and the GOP has ramped up efforts to gain more representation in the region.Īnother advantage that the GOP has over Democrats is that the nominee for the general election, Mayra Flores, has said that she plans to run in the special election, while the Democratic nominee is Rep. Under the boundaries that will be used in a special election, the median vote for Democrats was 54 percent. In 2020, the median vote in support of Democrats under the new boundaries was 60 percent. Under the district boundaries for current members - what would be used in a special election instead of the new congressional map drawn for the 2022 general election - the 34th Congressional District is more favorable toward Republicans. The early election to fill the remainder of Vela’s term through the end of the year presents a unique opportunity for Republicans to gain a new seat ahead of the next Congress. Abbott has renewed on a monthly basis for two years. The OAG affirmed that, “To the extent that the special election procedures established in the Election Code prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey,” the Disaster Act permitted the governor to suspend those provisions.Įvery county in the state is currently under a disaster declaration for COVID-19 that Gov. Greg Abbott inquired the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) if his emergency powers under the Texas Disaster Act allowed him to suspend relevant election laws in light of the Hurricane Harvey disaster declaration affecting the counties of the district. To hold an election distant enough to meet filing requirements but before the other uniform election date in November, Gov.
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