On Tuesday night, history was made in southeast Texas as Republican Mayra Flores won a special election in Texas’s 34th Congressional District, becoming the first Mexican-born woman to be elected to Congress and did so by winning a district President Biden won by 13 points in 2020.
But not surprisingly, it fetched scant attention Wednesday morning on the English and Spanish broadcast networks with ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA) and NBC’s Today hiding from viewers this ominous sign for liberals.
In the case of Today, they completely ignored Tuesday’s midterms results while GMA had a one-minute-and-22-second report that focused heavily on Donald Trump and how the GOP nominee for Nevada secretary of state questioned the 2020 election (as if this is a top of mind issue for voters outside of the far-left).
GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos began the segment by saying the “[r]esults now from another round of primaries overnight” showed “mixed results for candidates backed by former President Trump.”
America This Morning and World News Now co-host Andrew Dymburt stated that the races were “really seen as a test of former President Trump's power and influence over the GOP and the results, a split decision” in South Carolina, but that was short-lived as the two pivoted to Nevada and, instead of talk about the issues, the two made it about 2020.
“And in Nevada, Andrew, the Republican candidate to run the elections, that’s the secretary of state, is a big proponent of the Big Lie about the 2020 election,” said Stephanopoulos.
Dymburt replied that secretary of state nominee Jim Marchant (R) has “made repeated misleading claims about the 2020 election.”
CBS Mornings did come through with coverage of Flores’s triumph. Correspondent Ed O’Keefe said she won “decisively” in “a big sign of worry for Democrats,” adding that she’ll not only “represent a Latino district,” but “become the first-ever Mexican-born congresswoman to serve in the House.”
“It's also the first blue to red flip of a House district that was won by President Biden in 2020. And so, it's an early warning sign for Democrats of potential things to come this November,” O’Keefe concluded.
But for 86 seconds prior, it was focused on Republican victories in context of — what else — 2020 (click “expand”):
DOKOUPIL: Shifting gears now to the midterm election. There was another round of primaries last night, and Trump-backed candidates had strong showings in some critical battleground states. That could have big implications for the midterms and the influence of the former President is on display. Ed O’Keefe is tracking all of it from last night. Ed, good morning.
O’KEEFE: Good morning, Tony. As you said, another round of decisive wins for Trump-backed Republicans, including many who said the 2020 election was stolen. Let's start in the swing state of Nevada where Adam Laxalt will be the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate. He's endorsed by former president trump and has supported false claims of election fraud. He'll take on Catherine Cortez-Masto in the fall in one of those races that could determine the balance of power in the Senate. Also in Nevada, Jim Marchants is the Republican nominee for secretary of states. Remember, in Nevada, like many states, the secretary of state is elected and manages elections. Marchant has said that he would not have certified the 2020 election results. So, if he wins in the fall, he's among the Trump-backed deniers of the 2020 election results who would oversee elections in 2024. Then there's South Carolina where Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who's been critical of the former President, defeated Trump-backed candidate Katie Arrington in the first congressional district. But fellow Congressman Tom Rice, one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach the former President, lost his re-election bid to Trump-backed state lawmaker Russell Fry.
Telemundo’s Un Nuevo Día mustered only 32 seconds via a brief from co-hosts Ana Maria Canseco and Daniel Sarcos
EDGAR MUÑOZ: And yesterday was Election Day in Texas, where — for the first time in 10 years, it needs to be said that the Republicans won an important seat in the House of Representatives, which was held by the Democrats.
REBEKAH SMYTH: Mayra Flores, a Republican and respiratory care practioner, earned a significant victory in Tuesday’s special election for Texas’s 34th District after the resignation of Rep. Filemón Vela and by defeating her opponent, Democrat Dan Sanchez, by over 2,000 votes. Flores will be Texas’s first Latina Republican in Congress.
“A significant victory?” Why only 32 seconds then?
Over on Univision’s ¡Despierta América!, Flores only got six seconds in a brief via Satcha Pretto: “Finally, the Texas special election gives Republicans a House seat.”
In the past, the networks certainly have covered past special elections, but, of course, they were either a D-to-R flip or because they were enamored with the Democrat.
In 2017, then-NewsBusters senior analyst Kyle Drennen noted full network stories touting on a House special election in Georgia between Karen Handel (R) and Jon Ossoff (D) as a “referendum” on Trump with “Democrats...see[ing] an opening.” Months earlier in a primary, GMA swooned over Ossoff’s “emotional victory”...even though he didn’t hit the 50 percent total to win outright.
Fast-forward to March 2018 and it was the same story in Pennsylvania. Once Democrat Conor Lamb defeated Republican Rick Saccone, all three networks had full stories relaying how the “incredibly exciting” race was a “blow” and “stunning upset” to the GOP.
Special thanks to MRC Latino director Jorge Bonilla for the translations.
This downplaying and omission of Flores’s victory was brought to you by advertisers such as Amazon (on Telemundo), Dawn (on CBS), Macy’s (on NBC), Smile Direct Club (on Univision), and Verizon (on ABC). Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcripts from June 15, click “expand.”
ABC’s Good Morning America
June 15, 2022
7:11 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking Overnight; High-Stakes Primaries; Mix Results for Candidates Backed by Ex-President Trump]
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: To politics now. Results now from another round of primaries overnight with mixed results for candidates backed by former President Trump. Andrew Dymburt tracking the races. Good morning, Andrew.
ANDREW DYMBURT: And good morning, George. A couple of primary elections here are really seen as a test of former President Trump's power and influence over the GOP and the results, a split decision. Let's start in South Carolina this morning where five-term Congressman Tom Rice just became the first House Republican who voted to impeach Trump to lose a primary. In an exclusive interview with ABC news ahead of primary election night, Rice defended his vote saying, “I did it then and I would do it again tomorrow.” Elsewhere in the state, Representative Nancy Mace who blamed Trump for the Capitol riot, fended off a trump-backed challenger, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And in Nevada, Andrew, the Republican candidate to run the elections, that’s the secretary of state, is a big proponent of the Big Lie about the 2020 elections.
DYMBURT: Yeah, that’s right, George. It's Jim Marchant and he's projected — he’s a projected winner in his primary and will now advance to the general election. If Marchant, a Trump loyalist, were to win in November, he would be in charge of future elections in that key battleground state of Nevada. He made repeated misleading claims about the 2020 election and now it looks like the businessman and former state lawmaker will be on the primary ballot in November. Again, if these results in Nevada and South Carolina are viewed as a sort of test of Trump's influence, the results, so far, have been mixed. George?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Andrew Dymburt, thanks.
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CBS Mornings
June 15, 2022
7:10 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking Overnight; Primary Night Results; Several GOP Candidates Backed by Trump Claim Victory in Key Races]
TONY DOKOUPIL: Shifting gears now to the midterm election. There was another round of primaries last night, and Trump-backed candidates had strong showings in some critical battleground states. That could have big implications for the midterms and the influence of the former President is on display. Ed O’Keefe is tracking all of it from last night. Ed, good morning.
ED O’KEEFE: Good morning, Tony. As you said, another round of decisive wins for Trump-backed Republicans, including many who said the 2020 election was stolen. Let's start in the swing state of Nevada where Adam Laxalt will be the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate. He's endorsed by former President Trump and has supported false claims of election fraud. He'll take on Catherine Cortez-Masto in the fall in one of those races that could determine the balance of power in the Senate. Also in Nevada, Jim Marchants is the Republican nominee for secretary of states. Remember, in Nevada, like many states, the secretary of state is elected and manages elections. Marchant has said that he would not have certified the 2020 election results. So, if he wins in the fall, he's among the Trump-backed deniers of the 2020 election results who would oversee elections in 2024. Then there's South Carolina where Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who's been critical of the former President, defeated Trump-backed candidate Katie Arrington in the first congressional district. But fellow Congressman Tom Rice, one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach the former President, lost his re-election bid to Trump-backed state lawmaker Russell Fry. And finally, a big sign of worry for Democrats from South Texas where Republican Mayra Flores decisively won a special election to replace a Democratic congressman who resigned his seat early. Her win is notable because she's going to represent a Latino district and will become the first-ever Mexican-born congresswoman to serve in the House. It's also the first blue to red flip of a House district that was won by President Biden in 2020. And so, it's an early warning sign for Democrats of potential things to come this November. Nate?
NATE BURLESON: Ed, thank you.
