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First Mexico-born rep targets indictment-plagued Democrat in House GOP comeback bid
FIRST ON FOX: The first Mexico-born member of Congress is launching her comeback bid on Tuesday, setting her sights on a Democrat who Republicans view as one of the most vulnerable House incumbents of 2026.
«Unfortunately, we don’t have that many voices in the Spanish-speaking community — in Telemundo, in television — talking to the Spanish-speaking community about the amazing work President Trump is doing, and his administration,» former Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview prior to her announcement.
«And that’s something that I feel I’m obligated to do, because there’s a lot of misinformation being spread from the left, and they’re trying to instill fear and hate in the Hispanic community.»
Flores served in Congress for roughly six months, from late June 2022 until early January 2023, having flipped Texas’ 34th Congressional District from blue to red after winning a special election to replace ex-Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., D-Texas.
WILL THIS BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN END THE GOP’S 20-YEAR LOSING STREAK IN HIS STATE?
Former Rep. Mayra Flores is setting her sights on Texas’ 28th Congressional District, which is represented by Rep. Henry Cuellar. (Getty Images)
She lost re-election to Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, twice, though their rematch saw Flores come within less than 3% of Gonzalez’s victory.
Flores’ 2026 bid is aimed at challenging a different Democrat, however. The former GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital that she intends to run in Texas’ Loredo-anchored 28th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.
Cuellar is a moderate known to break from his own party on issues like border security, crime and abortion.
He’s served in Congress since 2005, with victories spanning from a few thousand votes to margins as high as 30%.
LONGTIME HOUSE REPUBLICAN WEIGHS SENATE BID IN KEY BATTLEGROUND
Cuellar most recently won last November by less than 6% – or roughly 13,000 votes – amid a federal indictment accusing him of an array of corruption charges.
«It’s not about what Mayra Flores wants. It’s what this country needs me to do. And this country needs me to run in Texas 28 and win this seat,» Flores said. «This is a seat that can be flipped in 2026. Right now we need a much bigger majority. It makes it very difficult for President Trump to get anything across with such a small majority.»
Flores said she was deeply familiar with the district and has familial ties to it.
Former Rep. Mayra Flores and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (ALLISON DINNER/AFP | Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
In addition to the seat being a viable opportunity for the GOP, she pointed to the criminal indictment as an argument for taking on Cuellar, and she noted he had been in office since she was a 1-year-old, having first served in the Texas State House in 1986.
«At the end of the day, I don’t care what party he is, whether you’re a Republican or you’re a Democrat,» Flores said. «Being a member, it’s … a position where you can help so many people, and you are able to represent an entire district. And yet he threw it all away. And no amount of money is worth you doing that to your country.»
Cuellar denied any wrongdoing on his or his wife’s part in a statement when the indictment was announced.
«I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,» Cuellar said in May 2024.
«Before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm,» he said. «The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people. Furthermore, we requested a meeting with the Washington D.C. prosecutors to explain the facts, and they refused to discuss the case with us or to hear our side.»
Former Rep. Mayra Flores served from June 2022 until early January 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Flores signaled she intended to focus heavily on the issues of agriculture and the economy when asked what she wanted to make another stint in Congress look like.
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«At the end of the day, you know, money’s important. Without money, you can’t have a shelter, you can’t have a car, you can’t provide for your children. So the economy is a top priority for me,» Flores said. «And of course, agriculture is a passion of mine. I was a farmworker. My parents were migrant workers. We traveled a lot. I believe our farmworkers need to be prioritized.»
She compared her push on agriculture to the Republican stance on U.S. energy independence.
«We talk about being independent, right, on oil and gas, which I agree, 100%. But we need to be food-independent as well,» Flores said.
House Of Representatives,House of Representatives Elections,Republicans,Politics
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NYC mayoral rivals unite against billionaire ‘election interference’ as campaign enters final stretch
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With two weeks until Election Day, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa have landed on unlikely common ground: rejecting billionaire influence in the New York City mayoral election.
Two billionaires, Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, are calling on Sliwa to drop out of the mayoral race in order to clear a pathway to victory for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an Independent candidate.
«The billionaires can conspire to pick their candidate,» Sliwa said during a press conference in Manhattan on Monday. «I trust the people. They will make the decision. I will not drop out.»
BILL ACKMAN JUMPS INTO NYC MAYORAL FIGHT, SAYS SLIWA MUST DROP OR ‘WE ARE TOAST’
New York City mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa speaks to reporters in Manhattan on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, with two weeks until Election Day. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
Several blocks downtown at his own press conference Monday morning, Mamdani admitted his surprise to agree with Sliwa.
«I never thought I would say this, but here we are, where the only candidates who agree that billionaires shouldn’t control the future of this city are the Republican nominee and the Democratic nominee,» Mamdani said.
Catsimatidis, who is also the CEO of WABC Radio, publicly urged Sliwa to drop out of the race on Monday. Sliwa has long hosted a radio program on WABC but is on leave while he runs for mayor.
«Curtis would make the best mayor of all the candidates … but Curtis has to realize that he should love New York more than anything else,» he said. «It certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now.»
«I’m not dropping out,» Sliwa reaffirmed to reporters on Monday while responding to Catsimatidis’ plea.
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani fields reporter questions in Manhattan on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
A recent Fox News survey of the mayoral race, conducted Oct. 10–14, asked voters about their second-choice candidate. If both Adams and Sliwa are out, the results show Mamdani keeping a significant lead, even as support for Cuomo increases.
With Sliwa out, the poll found Mamdani would pick up 50% compared to 37% to Cuomo.
Yet, Cuomo on Monday said that when New Yorkers realize that Sliwa dropping out would create a head-to-head matchup with Mamdani, «they’ll discard the spoiler Curtis Sliwa and rally behind Cuomo to save the city.»
When asked who bears responsibility if Mamdani is elected mayor, Sliwa told Fox News Digital on Monday, «We blame Andrew Cuomo.»
«I would suggest to Andrew Cuomo, stop this nonsense. You are the one who is responsible for Zohran Mamdani. You got beaten mightily in a Democratic primary,» Sliwa said when asked about Cuomo calling him a «spoiler.»
Mamdani on Sunday responded to a viral clip of Sliwa reiterating that he will stay in the race, despite pleas from billionaires, like Ackman.
«It’s genuinely positive for our democracy that there’s another candidate in this race who believes NYC voters should pick their next mayor, not billionaires who mostly live somewhere else,» Mamdani said in the post.
CUOMO RALLIES BUSINESS LEADERS AGAINST SOCIALIST CANDIDATE AS NYC MAYORAL RACE REACHES BOILING POINT
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, left, speaks while participating in a mayoral debate with Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, right, and independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (not pictured), Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, Pool)
Ackman and Catsimatidis are among those billionaires arguing that a vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani.
«Like that Ackman, out in Chappaqua, what does he know about New York City?» Sliwa questioned on Monday, telling reporters that billionaires «have paved the way for Zohran Mamdani because every time they fail, it makes it easier for Zohran Mamdani to campaign.»
«They should stay out of it, focus on Wall Street, hedge funds. They know nothing about the streets, as clearly evidenced by their panic,» Sliwa said, urging billionaires to «let the people decide.»
«Billionaires should be ashamed of themselves for interfering with this election. I call it election interference. Let the people decide. That’s the way I was raised. That’s the way everybody was raised. Nobody was ever told the billionaires were going to pick the person who wins an election.»
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Mamdani agreed with his Republican opponent on Monday, arguing that New Yorkers «no matter what they think about our politics, want to make their own decisions, and that is one place where Curtis and I agree, which is that it’s time for New Yorkers to make this decision, not for billionaire donors to decide who gets to run this city.»
«To have a candidate spending all his time pleading with another candidate to get, it shows that he doesn’t have much to share with New Yorkers himself,» Mamdani said of Cuomo.
Fox News Digital reached out to Cuomo for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Provocaciones
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A coffin of a deceased hostage has been transferred from Hamas to the Red Cross, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday.
The coffin is being transferred into Red Cross’ custody and is on the way to Israeli troops in Gaza, according to the IDF.
«Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages,» the IDF said on X.
Earlier on Monday, it was announced that the remains of Nepali student Bipin Joshi, who was held hostage in Gaza, were being flown from Israel to his hometown of Bhimdattanagar.
US MILITARY TO OVERSEE NEXT PHASE OF PEACE DEAL FROM COORDINATION BASE IN ISRAEL
A Nepal Army personnel pays his last respects to the coffin of Bipin Joshi, a deceased Nepali student who was killed while being held hostage in Gaza, at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on October 20, 2025, days after it was returned from Hamas captivity under a Gaza ceasefire and hostage exchange deal. ( Prakash Mathema/AFP)
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Hamas has now handed over the remains of nearly half of the 28 dead hostages in Gaza, a key step in the week-old ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
middle east,israel,world,wars
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