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Ex-GOP Rep Hospitalized Hours After Announcing 2026 Election Bid

The 39-year-old “faced a sudden health scare,” her team said.

Ex-GOP Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas was hospitalized hours after she announced her 2026 re-election bid, her team said in a statement on X. The 39-year-old was the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress when she represented Texas’s 34th district for a six-month stint after winning a special election in June 2022. She lost the election that November and again in 2024. She announced Tuesday that she’d switched districts to challenge Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who is facing a criminal trial over allegations he and his wife accepted $600,000 in foreign bribes from businesses in Mexico City and Azerbaijan. Cuellar and his wife have maintained their innocence. Flores “faced a sudden health scare,” her team said, but assured supporters she’s now “fully recovering and feeling stronger than ever.” They promised she’ll be back on the campaign trail soon and “ready to fight for the people of South Texas.” Her team didn’t elaborate on why exactly she was hospitalized.