WATCH: Republican mayor-elect who flipped Texas border town says Hispanic voters are ‘opening their eyes’

McAllen, Texas, is one of the border cities most affected by the current crisis the Biden administration is facing at America's southern border with Mexico.

In the race last Saturday, the city commissioner defeated fellow City Commissioner Veronica Vela Whitacre by just 206 votes, managing to flip the mayorship of the Democrat-led city. McAllen is about 85 percent Hispanic, and Hidalgo County, where McAllen is located, has longtime voted for Democratic candidates.

"Earthquake implications" was the term mentioned to describe Villalobos's surprise win on June 5. This particular district, according to Fox, voted by a 40-point margin in favor of Hillary Clinton against former President Donald Trump in 2016, and still by 20 points in favor of President Joe Biden in 2020.

"Regardless of how close it was .... it's very different than it was little more than, you know, a few months ago, to say nothing of a few years ago. What's going on?" Villalobos was asked. The victorious mayoral contender replied:

"Well, during the past election, it's amazing what happened here in south Texas. I think genuinely the Hispanic community is very conservative, yet, traditionally, they voted Democrat. It's amazing what happened this past election. I think our numbers as far as conservative voters were up by substantially."

"We finally, finally, have competition in south Texas. So I think it's an open up the doors for a lot of people," he continued on-air during the segment.

Villalobos elaborated further: "Down in south Texas, it's a little bit different. Like I said, traditionally Democrat, however, they are, a lot of individuals, including older individuals that have forever voted Democrat are opening up their eyes, accepting different ideas, both social and economic. And that's amazing. We will have some, I always tell everybody, competition is good."

"It has been traditional Democrats of south Texas who have been ignored a lot of the times. It won't happen anymore," Villalobos vowed. "We expect next election, that we will have the same type of results. We have candidates now running for Congress, when a lot of times it was very difficult to field a candidate down here, especially local elections. I think things are going to be changing."