The Congress member who received Elon Musk’s first ever vote for a Republican is now out of a job after only five months.
In June, the Tesla billionaire announced his first GOP vote, for representative Mayra Flores in a special election in Texas, whose district covers Mr Musk’s SpaceX launch facility in Boca Chica.
"I voted for Mayra Flores – first time I ever voted Republican," he said of his vote at the time, adding that he predicted a "massive red wave in 2022."
Ms Flores also predicted a GOP knockout win across the country, sharing a photo featuring a massive red wave on her Twitter as midterms approached.
Much like broader predictions of a “red wave” didn’t pan out, neither did Ms Flores’s electoral career.
The Associated Press projects that her Democratic opponent, Vicente Gonzalez, has won Ms Flores’s seat, which she flipped from its past Democratic office-holder this summer.
The Republican blamed the result on low turnout among GOP and independent voters.
“The RED WAVE did not happen,” Ms Flores wrote on Twitter as votes rolled in. “Republicans and Independents stayed home. DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RESULTS IF YOU DID NOT DO YOUR PART!”
Earlier this week, Ms Musk shocked observers of his once liberal-leaning politics when he urged supporters to vote Republican during the midterms.
On Monday morning, the Twitter owner tweeted that “shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic”.
“Hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who’s in charge!” he added.
The billionaire has said he historically considered himself an independent, but chose to vote entirely with Democrats until this year.
