House Republicans’ internal polling shows their candidate ahead in a race for a longtime Democrat-held seat in Texas that will be decided in a special election next month.
Flipping the seat from blue to red would give Republicans an early boost ahead of the November midterm elections, whittling away at the Democrats’ thin majority in the lower chamber to a mere four-seat margin.
In the poll, Republican Mayra Flores topped Democrat Daniel Sanchez by 5 points, 24% to 19%, in the race for the 34th Congressional District, which stretches along the Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi to Brownsville.
“Republicans are in a position to flip TX-34 for the first time in over 100 years and make history in South Texas,” said NRCC spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair. “Border security is the most important issue to Texas voters and Democrats are failing to deliver.”
The Sanchez campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Two other candidates in this special election with one garnering 9% and 7%. Another 41% were undecided, according to the poll conducted by Ragnar Research for Ms. Flores and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
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The special election was set for June 14 after Rep. Filemon Vela, a Democrat, resigned in March.
The troubles for Mr. Sanchez, Cameron County Commissioner, mirror troubles for Democrats in tough races across the country.
President Biden’s approval rating is struggling in the 34th District with 55% of voters disapproving of his job performance, compared to 41% who approve, according to the poll.
Additionally, the poll found that 34% of voters said border security is the most important issue, while 17% of voters said the economy is the most important issue.
Republicans are counting on their growing appeal to Hispanic voters in South Texas.
The winner of the special election will have to immediately begin running for the general election in November, and the district will not be the same for the next race.
If Ms. Flores defeats Mr. Sanchez in June in the district drawn a decade ago, she will have to then run for a full term in the newly drawn 34th Congressional District which is much less favorable for Republicans.
The GOP internal poll sample size was 400 registered voters. The poll was conducted from April 19 through April 21. The margin of error was +/- 4.9 percentage points.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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