TX-24: Candace Valenzuela Is Ready To Make History as First Black Latina in Congress
In July 14, 36-year-old Candace Valenzuela was sitting at home, watching in slight disbelief as she inched closer and closer to making U.S. history. Valenzuela had been locked in a tight Democratic primary race for Texas’ open 24th Congressional District and, as results poured in, it was clear she was pulling ahead of her opponent, Kim Olson.
“At that point, people were calling me and screaming going, ‘You won, you won!’” Valenzuela remembers. But she wanted to wait until the results were official. “I was just like, ‘I need to hear the [Associated Press], guys. It’s not real until the AP says it’s real!’”
The AP published a breaking tweet announcing her victory ten minutes before midnight. Valenzuela, an educator and mother of two who got her start in politics as an at-large member of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, secured 60% of votes. Olson got 39%. The celebrations and excitement happened virtually due to the pandemic.
“My election night watch party was a series of Zoom rooms that I would pop into to see people. It wasn’t the same as being at tables and having all of their faces there, but it was great to see the little squares and the faces of my loved ones and neighbors and supporters from all over,” she tells Remezcla. “There’s a lot of devastating things about right now but I think one of the saddest things is that you can’t grieve or triumph as a physical community, even though I am so thrilled that I was able to see everyone over Zoom. I guess ‘poignant’ is probably an appropriate word for what the feeling was.”
Valenzuela and her campaign had a lot to be proud of: Her win in the primary runoff means she could be the first-ever Black Latina in Congress, potentially flipping a seat that’s been red since Kenny Marchant took it over 15 years ago. Now, her next challenge is facing off against the Trump-backed Republican Beth Van Duyne in the November elections, but Valenzuela says the primary results have energized her team: “We’re really, really excited about taking that momentum in order to win in November,” she says.
https://remezcla.com/features/culture/candace-valenzuela-elections-2020-profile/
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