- The GOP candidate whom Elon Musk says got his first Republican vote lost her race.
- Musk said he voted for Mayra Flores in the June special election she won in Texas.
The GOP House Rep. who got Elon Musk's first Republican vote earlier this year was booted out of Congress in the midterms just five months later.
Texas GOP Rep. Mayra Flores lost her seat in the state's 34th Congressional District to Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez by a wide margin. As of early Wednesday, 96% of the votes were counted, leaving Flores trailing by almost nine percentage points.
Flores had held the seat for just under five months, having flipped it red in a special election in mid-June after it was vacated by Democrat Filemon Vela. The district includes the SpaceX base in Boca Chica.
When Flores won in June, Musk predicted big gains for the Republicans that failed to materialize as results came in late on Tuesday.
"I voted for Mayra Flores – first time I ever voted Republican," he said in June, adding: "Massive red wave in 2022."
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 15, 2022
On Tuesday as polls opened, Flores echoed Musk and the mood of many GOP supporters by tweeting a picture of a red wave with the comment: "TODAY'S FORECAST." Within 24 hours she had been proved wrong.
As of early Wednesday, results nationwide were still being counted and both the Senate and the House of Representatives still hanging in the balance — though Republicans may still make significant gains, nobody claimed a decisive "red wave" had come to pass.
It's unclear who Musk voted for in this election, though on Monday he tweeted to advocate voting Republican in Congressional races. He followed this by saying: "To be clear, my historical party affiliation has been Independent, with an actual voting history of entirely Democrat until this year."
In May, he had been less definitive, saying that he has voted "overwhelmingly" Democrat in the past, but added: "Like I'm not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear."
He described himself as a "moderate" who leans towards neither party.
After her loss, Flores raged on Twitter about supporters not showing up for her.
—Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) November 9, 2022