TX-24: Candace Valenzuela could become first Afro-Latina in Congress
Washington (CNN)Democrat Candace Valenzuela, who could become the first Afro-Latina member of Congress, has won a primary runoff for an open US House seat in Texas.
Valenzuela was vying for the nomination in a race against Democratic primary rival Kim Olson for Texas' open 24th Congressional District. As of Wednesday afternoon, Valenzuela had 60.4% of the vote to Olson's 39.6%, according to the unofficial results from the Texas secretary of state's office.
Olson sent a tweet late Tuesday night, thanking her supporters and saying, "The truth is, sometimes, a pilot knows when it's time to land the jet."
The Texas Democratic Party congratulated Valenzuela on becoming the Democratic nominee for the district Tuesday evening. In a statement on her Twitter account celebrating her win, Valenzuela wrote, "I'm proud to announce that tonight, our grassroots coalition has won and I am the Democratic nominee for Texas' 24th District."
The district is currently in GOP hands and represented by Republican Rep. Kenny Marchant, but he announced last year that he would not be running for reelection. Now, Democrats are hoping to flip the seat blue.
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