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WASHINGTON — South Texas Republican congressional candidate Mayra Flores is getting an extra boost from Washington.

The National Republican Congressional Committee announced Wednesday $800,000 in ad reservations in Harlingen to support Flores, a former congresswoman, in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. The race in the 34th Congressional District is Republicans’ top flip target in the state.

The ad reservation is the first by the national Republican group to target a Texas race this cycle. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC with ties to House Republican leadership but independent from the campaigns, has also spent $1.9 million in support of Flores.

The House Majority PAC, a super PAC associated with Democratic leadership, announced its own ad reservations in South Texas in April. That included $92,000 in Corpus Christi, $1,635,000 in Harlingen and $520,000 in San Antonio.

Wednesday’s ad reservation will also include $720,000 for U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who is defending his seat in Iowa. The ad reservation will include broadcast, cable and digital advertisements.

“From border security to the cost of living, voters know extreme House Democrats are responsible for the mess but trust Republicans to deliver solutions,” NRCC communications director Jack Pandol said in a statement. “With strong leaders like Zach Nunn and Mayra Flores returning to Washington next year, families can count on them to deliver results and reverse the Harris-Biden administration's glaring failures.”

The NRCC in June announced $45.7 million in ad buys across the country, but Texas was left off of that push. The June ad buy included $688,800 for the El Paso media market, but those ads were focused on New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, where Republicans are hoping to unseat Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez. Both of El Paso’s members of Congress, Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, are in safe seats.

The NRCC named Flores as a part of its “Young Guns” program in July, giving her added mentorship from seasoned campaign hands.

Democrats ridicule Republican efforts in the district as useless. Gonzalez won the seat in 2022 by more than 8 percentage points.

"Try as they might, the NRCC can’t change the facts," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen said in a statement. "South Texans know that Vicente Gonzalez is fighting for them and delivering results. Mayra Flores is a repeated liar and come November, she’ll be a repeated loser.”

Gonzalez echoed the sentiment.

"We do enjoy watching Republicans squander resources in un-winnable districts. Amateur decisions like that is how we take the majority across the country," Gonzalez said in a statement.

Texas’ 34th district was Republicans only flip target in the state until U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar was indicted on money laundering and corruption charges earlier this year. The NRCC announced in June that it would be targeting his seat after a runoff, though it hasn’t yet announced any money spent in the district.

Cuellar is facing Navy veteran Jay Furman, a political novice with modest fundraising. Furman raised just under $70,000 as of the end of June, according to FEC filings. Cuellar meanwhile had raised over $2 million with more than $350,000 in cash on hand.

Republicans are also spending heavily to protect U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-McAllen, who flipped the 15th Congressional District in 2022. The seat is considered the most competitive in Texas, and Democrats are pouring resources into Michelle Vallejo’s bid to unseat De La Cruz. Vallejo and De La Cruz faced each other in 2022, when Gonzalez vacated the seat to run in the 34th district. De La Cruz unsuccessfully challenged Gonzalez in the 15th district in 2020.

Flores briefly represented the 34th district in 2022 after longtime Rep. Filemon Vela left Congress to go into lobbying. Flores won the seat in a special election that summer before losing in the general election to Gonzalez.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/28/republican-campaign-ad-buy-mayra-flores/.

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