'We need a stronger voice in Washington': Torres announces congressional run

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

 Former senator Mary Torres will seek the Republican nomination for Guam’s congressional seat, challenging the incumbent Del. James Moylan in next year’s primary.

“We need a stronger voice with a clear vision in Washington,” said Torres, who served four terms in the Guam legislature from 2015 to 2023.

Torres, who is married to Justice Robert Torres, came from a line of public servants. She is the sister of former Gov. Felix Camacho, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the congressional seat in 2016.

Their father, the late former Gov. Carlos Camacho, was the last appointed and first elected governor of Guam, serving from 1969 to 1975. He was appointed governor by President Nixon in 1969 and then elected governor in 1970.

Torres officially announced her candidacy today, which would have been her father’s 101st birthday.

“Too many families are being driven from our island by housing prices that feel impossible, medical bills that never stop, and groceries that just won’t last—no matter how much or how hard you work,” she said in her video message.

“Families rooted here for generations now feel like strangers in their own home.”

The announcement underscored that many of Guam’s challenges stem from federal policy and require a more effective advocate in the nation’s capital.

“These are not problems our island created, but they are problems our people live with every single day,” she said. “Until we have a stronger voice in Washington, these failures will keep weighing us down no matter how hard we try.”

Before being elected senator, Torres served as general manager of the Port Authority of Guam in 2012.

Torres had bipartisan support in the legislature, where she authored nearly 40 laws during her tenure, including legislation that cut taxes for 90 percent of small businesses, expanded paid parental leave, increased the number of foster homes, and strengthened protections for survivors of violence.

“We’ve proven what’s possible here at home,” said Torres, who holds a bachelor of arts degree from Tufts University in Massachusetts.

 “Now I’m ready to carry that fight to Washington. And like our parents and grandparents before us, I won’t stop until our children’s lives are better than our own," she added.

Former Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares heads Torres’ campaign, with Jesse Garcia as treasurer.

According to a press release from her campaign, Torres’ platform will be released during the election season.

“The delegate’s job isn’t about photo ops or press releases,” she said. “It’s measured by whether life here is more affordable, whether our kids see a future at home, and whether our manåmko’ and veterans are treated with the dignity they’ve earned. If you believe in that vision, then I humbly ask for the chance to earn your vote.”

Moylan became the first Republican to hold the congressional seat in three decades after defeating former Speaker Judi Won Pat, a Democrat, in the 2022 election.

Before Moylan, Ben Garrido Blaz was the only Republican to hold the Guam delegate seat. Succeeding Antonio Won Pat, Blaz represented Guam in the U.S. Congress from 1985 to 1993. For 30 years, the Guam delegate seat in the U.S. Congress has been the Democratic Party’s turf.

Subscribe to

our monthly

digital edition