Texas Republican Mayra Flores has done a lot of exposing since she was elected in June in a special election to serve out the remaining months of Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela Jr.’s term after his early retirement from Congress’ 34th District.

She’s exposed her general election opponent, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat who currently represents the 15th but who decided after redistricting that he would run in the more Democrat-friendly 34th, as a racist. She even got him to make an “apology” of sorts for the bigoted, sexist campaign he – along with the help of a local far-left blogger – has run against her.

She’s also exposed Gonzalez as a dreaded “election denier” after catching him proclaiming in front of an applauding Rep. Adam Schiff that the June special election was “stolen” from Democrats.

And now, after serving four months in Congress, she’s shining a bright spotlight on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which recently rejected her entry into the group on the basis of her party affiliation and supposedly controversial statements she’s made:

Townhall has exclusively learned Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) was prevented from joining the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), the leading caucus for Latino members of Congress, because she is a Republican and membership is only reserved for Democrats.

According to those familiar with the situation, Flores requested to join CHC in early October and was rejected shortly thereafter. Flores is not only the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress, but she also represents a district along the U.S.-Mexico border that is overwhelmingly Latino. CHC used to have Republican members but they went on to create the Congressional Hispanic Conference as their own version of the CHC in the 2000s.

The CHC told Townhall in a follow-up that membership in the Caucus is now reserved exclusively for Democrats, and of course, blamed the matter on Republicans and on Flores’ “extreme MAGA values”:

In addition to citing their bylaws that state only Democrats can join CHC, the communications director said Flores’ “Extreme MAGA values and their attacks on Latinos” were other reasons why she will not be allowed into the organization.

“In 2003, led by Rep. Diaz Balart, GOP Members split from the CHC to form the Congressional Hispanic Conference. Per our bylaws, the CHC is now for Democratic Members. Rep. Flores’ Extreme MAGA values and their attacks on Latinos and our nation’s democracy on January 6 do not align with CHC values,” the CHC communications director said.

After ripping the Caucus for their apparent lack of tolerance for opposing viewpoints, Flores took to the Twitter machine and made a quip about “maybe” not being “the right type of taco,” a reference to eye-opening remarks made by First Lady Jill Biden over the summer during a “Latinx” conference in Texas in which she infamously compared Hispanics to San Antonio breakfast tacos:

My thoughts after the rejection by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, maybe I'm not the right type of taco.

— Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) October 27, 2022

This is, of course, not the first time a Republican has been denied entry into a Congressional club that was initially created purportedly in the interests of better-serving minority groups:

Given the CHC’s larger voice, Republicans in recent years have tried to break its strict Democrat-only rule. In 2017, GOP Rep. Carlos Curbello of Florida was denied admission on the grounds of his partisanship.

[…]

“Last time I checked, I’m Black, and Mayra is Latina. These Democrats care more about the ‘R’ than our race,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who was denied entry into the Congressional Black Caucus last year over party affiliation.

In 2010 after he was elected to Congress, then-Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) rejected an invitation to join the Congressional Black Caucus.

“While I recognize the efforts of the CBC and appreciate their invitation for me to caucus with them, I will not be joining at this time. My campaign was never about race,” Scott told Politico in a statement at the time.

A month later, newly elected Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) joined the CBC after harshly criticizing it for being too “monolithic.”

“One of the problems we see in relation to the black community is that we cannot have this monolithic viewpoint of victimization and dependency,” West said according to Politico. “I’m an inner-city alumnus of Atlanta, Ga., and I think I’m living the American dream. And that’s what we need to get out to all young black men and women in our country.”

As for the Flores/Gonzalez race, Cook Political has it listed as a “toss up.” RealClearPolitics currently lists it as “leans Dem.”

Flashback –> Watch: Jerry Nadler Hands Republicans a Campaign Gift Ahead of November Elections