- Republican Rep. Mayra Flores repeatedly refused to say whether Biden is the legitimately-elected president.
- The New York Times reported that Flores was offered four opportunities to state the obvious.
- Some Republicans still refuse to accept the 2020 election as legitimate.
Republican Rep. Mayra Flores repeatedly refused to say that President Joe Biden was in fact the legitimately-elected president of the United States during an interview, the New York Times reports.
"He's the worst president of the United States," Flores, who had just been sworn-in the day before, told the Times' Jennifer Medina. Medina writes in a story published Wednesday morning that she asked Flores the same question three more times — whether Biden won the 2020 election — and received the same non-committal reply.
Flores' reported apprehension to acknowledge the reality of the 2020 election illustrates how the GOP's newest lawmaker is furthering the efforts of some in the party to continue to question the legitimacy of the last election. Former President Donald Trump continues to argue his baseless claim that the election was stolen, a stance that has been openly mocked by his former Attorney General Bill Barr and others.
Flores has also drawn attention for her past references to the QAnon conspiracy theory and for saying Trump "should've locked Hillary Clinton in jail."
The Texas Republican made history last month when she won a special election, becoming Texas' first Latina congresswoman and the first Republican in more than a century to win in the Rio Grande Valley. Flores' victory further illustrates how Trump's surprisingly strong performance in the region in 2020 underlines how Republicans can appeal to Latino voters.
As for her past QAnon comments, Flores told the Times that her pushing of hashtags related to the conspiracy theory was to express opposition to it. The fringe theory, which has been pushed by other members of Congress, is based on a wild claim that Trump was secretly fighting a cabal of elites who are children traffickers and worship Satan.
"It's just to reach more people so more people can see like, hey, this needs to stop," Flores said. "This is only hurting our country."
In an April 2020 Facebook ad uncovered by Media Matters, a liberal watchdog, Flores says "Democrat Party has failed us." A series of hashtags, including those related to QAnon, accompany the post. Nowhere in the message is there any language about the conspiracy theory "hurting our country."
Flores is expected to face a tough challenge this November due to redistricting. Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who currently represents Texas' neighboring 15th District, has announced his intentions to run for the new seat. The new district's boundaries are seen as much more favorable to Democrats.
A representative for Flores did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.