Primary elections live updates: Tom Rice ousted in S.C. after Trump impeachment vote, and the GOP scores a win in Texas

BROWNSVILLE, Tex. — This border city has such close ties with its sister city of Matamoros, Mexico, just across the river, that some residents feel the stricter immigration controls that Mayra Flores, the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s special election, advocates would split families and destroy bonds of community that span the Rio Grande.

“My parents and uncles and two brothers are buried in Matamoros,” said Mercedes Barrera, 72. “For us who live in Brownsville, that river isn’t a border between two countries so much as something that we share. I cross to the other side often and so does my family in Mexico. The idea that we have to put a stop to migration from Mexico that has been going on for centuries is offensive to me. Trump was wrong about that wall, and I refuse to vote for any of his supporters.”

For Connie Garcia, 27, there is much to admire about Flores. But ultimately, Garcia decided to vote Democrat.

“At first, I was excited to see this young beautiful and powerful Mexican American woman,” said Garcia, who works as a waitress while attending college. “But then I looked at her deeper. And I think I do not want to elect a woman who thinks women should not have freedom to make decisions about their own bodies.”