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'''Peter Paul Flores''', known as '''Pete Flores''' (born January 30, 1960),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/peter-flores/pf73325293gw|title=Peter Flores|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=August 1, 2018}}</ref> is the newest member of the Texas State Senate. A [[Republican Party|Republican]] from Pleasanton in Atascosa County [[Texas]], Flores won a special election on September 18, 2018, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the scandal-plagued [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Carlos Uresti]] of [[San Antonio]].

'''Peter Paul Flores''', known as '''Pete Flores''' (born January 30, 1960),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/peter-flores/pf73325293gw|title=Peter Flores|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=August 1, 2018}}</ref> is the newest member of the Texas State Senate. A [[Republican Party|Republican]] from Pleasanton in Atascosa County [[Texas]], Flores won a special election on September 18, 2018, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the scandal-plagued [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Carlos Uresti]] of [[San Antonio]].

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Gallego, considered more liberal than Flores, carried the endorsement of the usually independent ''Laredo Morning Times,'' despite Flores having been reared in [[Laredo]], graduated from Martin High School there, and also attended the former Laredo Junior College (since Laredo College).  In its support for Gallego, the ''Laredo Morning Times'' noted that Gallego had opposed the  2017 "bathroom bill" that would have required transgender Texans to use the public rest room according to their genitalia at birth. Though the measure was blocked from a vote in the state House by retiring Speaker [[Joe Straus]] of San Antonio, Flores still supports it because numerous crimes have been reported involving transgenders in rest rooms. Gallego also opposes the sanctuary cities bill, which was passed into law. That legislation, he claims, alienates law enforcement from the immigrant community, but Flores supports the sanctuary cities law because law-enforcement officers are sworn to uphold all laws. Governor Abbott dispatched the Department of Public Safety at an estimated cost of $800 million over two years to help federal officials secure the border. Gallego claims that those funds would have been better spent on public education.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lmtonline.com/opinion/editorials/article/Gallego-earns-nod-in-SD19-runoff-race-13213595.php?utm_campaign=hptexas|title=Gallego earns nod in Senate District 19 runoff race|publisher=''The Laredo Morning Times''|accessdate=September 9, 2018}}</ref>​

Gallego, considered more liberal than Flores, carried the endorsement of the usually independent ''Laredo Morning Times,'' despite Flores having been reared in [[Laredo]], graduated from Martin High School there, and also attended the former Laredo Junior College (since Laredo College).  In its support for Gallego, the ''Laredo Morning Times'' noted that Gallego had opposed the  2017 "bathroom bill" that would have required transgender Texans to use the public rest room according to their genitalia at birth. Though the measure was blocked from a vote in the state House by retiring Speaker [[Joe Straus]] of San Antonio, Flores still supports it because numerous crimes have been reported involving transgenders in rest rooms. Gallego also opposes the sanctuary cities bill, which was passed into law. That legislation, he claims, alienates law enforcement from the immigrant community, but Flores supports the sanctuary cities law because law-enforcement officers are sworn to uphold all laws. Governor Abbott dispatched the Department of Public Safety at an estimated cost of $800 million over two years to help federal officials secure the border. Gallego claims that those funds would have been better spent on public education.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lmtonline.com/opinion/editorials/article/Gallego-earns-nod-in-SD19-runoff-race-13213595.php?utm_campaign=hptexas|title=Gallego earns nod in Senate District 19 runoff race|publisher=''The Laredo Morning Times''|accessdate=September 9, 2018}}</ref>​

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With final results on September 18, Flores scored an unexpected upset over Gallego in a year in which Texas Democrats confidently expect to ride a blue wave to major victories on November 6, including possibly upsetting [[U.S. Senator]] [[Ted Cruz]] with their nominee, [[Beto O'Rourke]] of [[El Paso]]. In the second part of the balloting, Flores polled 23,576 votes (53 percent); Gallego, 20,911 (47 percent). Flores' victory was assured with his 81 percent margin in Medina County, 72 percent in his own Atascosa County, and his 64 percent in Uvalde County, all near San Antonio. Gallego carried the Bexar County precincts with nearly 54 percent of the vote, but the margin was insufficient for him to overcome Flores district-wide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/sep18_332_state.htm?x=0&y=0&id=107|title=2018 Special Runoff Election Returns|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accesdate=September 19, 2018}}</ref>Flores' term will expire in January 2021; like [[Donald Trump|President Trump]], he faces reelection in 2020.

With final results on September 18, Flores scored an unexpected upset over Gallego in a year in which Texas Democrats confidently expect to ride a blue wave to major victories on November 6, including possibly upsetting [[U.S. Senator]] [[Ted Cruz]] with their nominee, [[Beto O'Rourke]] of [[El Paso]]. In the second part of the balloting, Flores polled 23,576 votes (53 percent); Gallego, 20,911 (47 percent). Flores' victory was assured with his 81 percent margin in Medina County, 72 percent in his own Atascosa County, and his 64 percent in Uvalde County, all near San Antonio. Gallego carried the Bexar County precincts with nearly 54 percent of the vote, but the margin was insufficient for him to overcome Flores district-wide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/sep18_332_state.htm?x=0&y=0&id=107|title=2018 Special Runoff Election Returns|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accesdate=September 19, 2018}}</ref> Flores' term will expire in January 2021; like [[Donald Trump|President Trump]], he faces reelection in 2020.

==References==​

==References==​