The Latino Victory Fund, a Hispanic political-action committee established by actress Eva Longoria and Democratic Party finance chair Henry Muñoz, for the first time is supporting a Republican candidate for office, NBC News reported.

The group on Tuesday held a fundraiser for Raúl "Danny" Vargas, who is vying for an open seat in the Virginia House of Delegates on the GOP ballot. Vargas seeks to succeed retiring Del. Tom Rust, a fellow Republican, but he is not running unopposed: Democrat Jennifer Boysko is challenging the New York native in the Nov. 3 election, the network detailed.

"I'm thrilled," Vargas said about the support he is receiving from the Latino Victory Fund. "The time has come to make sure we're focused on common-sense solutions; the time has come to make sure we are bringing folks together on both sides of the aisle."

The candidate used the fundraiser to reiterate his stances on a number of hot-button issues: He called on South Carolina to take down the Confederate battle flag from its statehouse memorial; urged Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform; and increase the representation of Latinos all across the United States, NBC News said.

"I tried convincing (lawmakers) to move forward with immigration reform, so we could get past the limbo we all were in," he said at the fundraiser, according to Fox News Latino.

Vargas was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up in a poor neighborhood of Brooklyn, the news channel detailed. He served in the U.S. Air Force, worked in the private sector and, in 2004, founded his own business, VARCom Solutions, which provides marketing, communications and public relations services to government agencies, non-profit organizations and political campaigns.

He served as national chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly for two years and, in 2009, was appointed to a bipartisan congressional commission to develop a new American Latino Museum at the District of Columbia's Smithsonian Institution.

"We look at a candidate's values, their access to opportunities, their stance on education, on immigration reform and support of democratic institutions," Latino Victory Fund President Cristóbal Alex noted as he explained the group's support for the Republican. "Danny reflects these values, and he has a compelling story that reflects the American Dream."