Bill Flores

His paternal ancestors left Spain and settled in what is now Texas in 1725.

Of his heritage, Flores has said, "My family came from Spain in 1725, and if people want to consider me Hispanic, they can, but I didn't advertise that way, and I'm an American first."

He was succeeded by former U.S. Representative for TX's 32nd congressional district Congressman Pete Sessions.

Flores was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base, where his father was serving in the military.

He is the son of Ruth Ann Theresa (née Kennedy) and Joe Pete Flores.

He grew up in Stratford in the Texas Panhandle.

William Hose Flores Sr. (born February 25, 1954) is an American businessman and politician who was the U.S. representative for TX's 17th congressional district from 2011 to 2021.

The district, located in the middle of the state, includes Waco, College Station, and Bryan.

He is a member of the Republican Party and the former chief executive officer of Phoenix Exploration Company, an oil and natural gas company.

Flores currently serves as Vice Chair of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

He graduated with a BBA, cum laude in accounting from Texas A&M University in 1976.

While there, he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, the MSC Student Conference on National Affairs, the Ross Volunteer Company, and Corps Staff.

He also served as Student Body Vice-President of Finance during his senior year.

He has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant since 1978.

He also received a Master of Business Administration from Houston Baptist University in 1985.

Flores served as the chief financial officer (CFO) for two publicly traded energy service firms from 1990 through 1998: Marine Drilling Companies, Inc. (1990–1997) and Western Atlas Inc. (1997–1998).

From 2002 to 2005, Flores was the Senior Vice President and CFO of Gryphon Exploration Company.

In 2006, a group of five oil and gas industry executives, led by Flores as president and CEO, formed Phoenix Exploration Company with $350 million of capital commitments from a group of private equity firms that included Riverstone Holdings and Pinebrook Partners.

The company was engaged in oil and gas exploration along the Gulf Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.

The size of his primary victory was a surprise to many political observers because Curnock was the 2008 nominee and he held Edwards' 2008 vote total close to 50 percent, despite being heavily outspent.

During the Republican primary, Flores received the endorsement of former Republican U.S. Senator Phil Gramm After the primary win, Flores was also endorsed by George H. W. Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee.

Flores also served as a director of that company from its formation until he retired in December 2009 to run for public office.

Flores is a former commissioner of the Texas Real Estate Commission (appointed by Governor Rick Perry), and a past director and former chairman of the board of the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University.

He has also served on boards of Phoenix Exploration Company, Marine Drilling Companies, Inc., FreeBirds, Inc., and The PARC, Inc, and the Alley Theater of Houston.

He serves on the board of the Private Enterprise Research Center of Texas A&M University and as a member of the board of trustees of Houston Baptist University, where he serves as vice-chairman.

In late 2009 Flores entered the Republican primary for the 17th District, held by 10-term Democratic incumbent Chet Edwards.

Flores claimed his worries about the future of "the American dream" inspired him to run for Congress.

He committed a half million dollars of his own money to self-fund his campaign.

In the Republican primary runoff on April 13, he had defeated Rob Curnock by a 64–36 percent margin.

Through December 21, 2010, Flores' campaign raised $3.5 million, of which $1.49 million came from Flores himself.

He spent $3.3 million overall.

On November 2, 2010, Flores defeated Edwards with 62 percent of the vote.

This was the largest margin of defeat for a Democratic incumbent in the 2010 cycle.

Flores won his fourth term in the U.S. House in the general election held on November 8, 2016.

With 149,417 votes (60.8 percent), he defeated Democrat William Matta, who trailed with 86,603 ballots (35.2 percent) and Libertarian Clark Patterson with 9,708 (4 percent).

Flores won his fifth term in the U.S. House in the general election held on November 6, 2018.

With 134,375 votes (56.9 percent), he defeated Democrat Rick Kennedy, who trailed with 97,574 ballots (41.3 percent) and Libertarian Peter Churchman with 4,415 (1.9 percent).

Upon his swearing-in, Flores became the first Republican to represent Waco in Congress since Reconstruction.

Flores supports limited government and lower taxes; an end to the spending of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; making the Bush-era tax cuts permanent; anti-abortion positions; and stronger enforcement at the U.S. Mexico border.

Flores chose not to seek re-election in 2020 after five terms in office.