OCTOBER 12, 2026 · 30-DAY UPDATE TO THE SECOND EDITION
South Texas Now
SOUTH TEXAS NOW — THE BALANCED MEDIA MACHINE WITH A LATINO FLAVOR
LEAD STORY
Thirty Days Out: The Campaign for the 34th District
Early voting opens October 19 and Election Day is November 3. In the last thirty days the Vice President and the Speaker of the House came to Harlingen for Republican Eric Flores, the public polling average stayed with Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, and a Fox News story about campaign travel demanded a clear answer. This update keeps every story from our Second Edition, adds video to each one, and opens with the campaign, the clarification, a new op-ed by Joe A. Flores, and a one-bullet interview — written for every South Texan, independent, Republican, or Democrat.
Joe A. Flores, JD, APRN, FNP-BC, CCRN-K · Publisher and Founding Columnist
INSIDE COVER
A Message from the Publisher
By Joe A. Flores, Attorney · Publisher, South Texas Now
Thank you for reading, South Texas. This page is my summary of the edition, the key takeaways, and a plain statement of who stands behind every word in it.
This is the thirty-day update to our Second Edition. The August issue made the case for Congressman Vicente Gonzalez on his record. Since then the 34th District has become one of the most watched House races in the country: the Vice President and the Speaker of the House both came to Harlingen for his opponent, Fox News raised a question about his campaign's travel spending, and independent reporting raised questions about the challenger's own campaign. We kept every August story, added video to each, and put four new pieces in front of them: the campaign as it stands today, a clarification of the travel story, a new op-ed, and a single question we are putting to both candidates. Early voting begins October 19. Election Day is November 3.
Independence statement
The opinions and editorial judgments in this edition are solely the views of Joe A. Flores. The facts reported are verified against the original sources, which are linked in every story. No political action committee, campaign, candidate, or party has paid for, sponsored, reviewed, or attempted to edit this edition. South Texas Now is produced independently by the Flores Law Firm Media Machine and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Key takeaways
The race is a toss-up on paper and a Gonzalez lead in the polls. The district was redrawn to a Trump +10 seat, yet the last independent poll had Gonzalez 45–42 and the public polling average has him up about three.
Republican firepower arrived, and Gonzalez answered with unity. While Vance rallied for Eric Flores, Gonzalez stood with Vance and Abbott in Brownsville and told a bipartisan crowd it "warms my heart to see the political diversity that we have today."
The travel story is a fair question with a documented answer. Every figure came from the campaign's own FEC filings; the campaign says each trip was official or campaign business; no complaint or violation has been reported. The Disney entries should still be itemized.
The decade-long record kept growing this month. $6 million for a Kingsville nursing school, a bipartisan energy bill with Dan Crenshaw, a House floor fight for Corpus Christi water, a fire engine for La Villa.
Texas Monthly's description, not ours: "a political unicorn, a Democrat deeply attuned to his district who is capable of winning thousands of Trump voters," and "among the most conservative Democrats in Congress." That is why Republican and independent votes are in play.
Voters should weigh three reported episodes about the challenger — a "$5,000 check" fundraising text, the removal of "support President Trump's agenda" from his website, and his two months as defense counsel in an Edinburg school lawsuit — with his side's responses, which we print, and with Gonzalez's rebuttal: his opponent is "not fooling Democrats or Republicans," and the record of the last decade is the answer to every charge.
There has been no televised debate. Gonzalez debated in 2024; this year the campaigns dispute why none has happened. South Texas Now has offered to host one. Ask both candidates to accept.
PRE-ELECTION REPORT · THREE WEEKS OUT
Three Weeks to Decide: What TX-34 Voters Need to Know Before Early Voting Opens
Reported by South Texas Now · Edited by Vanessa Flores · October 12, 2026
Summary
Early voting in the 34th Congressional District opens Monday, October 19. Four candidates are on the ballot: Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, Republican Eric Flores, Green Party nominee Eddie Espinoza, and Libertarian Chris Royal. National forecasters still call it a toss-up. The last independent poll and the betting markets lean toward Gonzalez. Each campaign has spent the last two weeks on a single message. Flores says a decade in Washington is long enough. Gonzalez says the decade is the record, and the record is the reason to keep him. Below are the dates you need, where the race stands, each side's case in its own words, and the two money stories now in the news, each printed with the other side's response.
Key takeaways
Vote early: Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 30. During early voting you may vote at any early-voting location in your county. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
Mail-ballot applications must be received by Friday, October 23. A postmark is not enough. Voters 65 or older, voters who are sick or disabled, and voters who will be out of the county may qualify.
The race is close on paper. Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball rate it a toss-up. The latest independent poll had Gonzalez ahead 45 to 42.
Flores's closing argument is "you're fired." With Vice President Vance at his side, he says Gonzalez has done nothing in ten years.
Gonzalez's closing argument is the ledger. He cites nearly $8 billion in federal funds for the district, $6 million this month for a Kingsville nursing facility, a bipartisan energy bill with Republican Dan Crenshaw, and a vote against the law that cut SNAP and Medicaid in the Valley.
Both campaigns face money questions. One concerns Gonzalez's campaign travel. The other concerns a Flores fundraising text built on a "$5,000 check." We print both stories and both answers.
Check your registration and your ID before you go. VoteTexas.gov has both. Registration closed October 5.
Part 1 · The Calendar
The Dates That Decide It
Oct. 5 — Registration deadline (passed). Confirm your status at VoteTexas.gov.
Oct. 19 — Early voting in person begins. During early voting you may vote at any early-voting location in your county of registration.
Oct. 23 — Last day for your county's early-voting clerk to receive an application for a ballot by mail.
Oct. 30 — Last day of early voting in person.
Nov. 3 — Election Day. A mail ballot counts on election night if it is received by 7:00 p.m. A ballot postmarked by 7:00 p.m. on November 3 counts if it arrives by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4.
Mail voting in Texas is limited. You must be 65 or older on Election Day, sick or disabled, expecting to give birth within three weeks of Election Day, away from your county for the whole voting period, or confined in jail. Both the application and the return envelope must include your Texas driver's license, Texas ID or Election Identification Certificate number. If you have none of those, use the last four digits of your Social Security number.
A Trump +10 Map, a Three-Point Poll and a Cash Edge
The map. The Legislature redrew the district in August 2025. Under the new lines, President Trump would have carried it by ten points in 2024. That is why Republicans recruited Flores, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Army National Guard infantry captain, and why Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both still rate the race a toss-up. Flores told the Associated Press he expects a close race.
The polls. The most recent independent public poll came from Texas Southern University's Barbara Jordan Center, which surveyed 700 voters August 18–22. It had Gonzalez at 45 percent, Flores at 42, Espinoza at 3 and Royal at 2. Earlier surveys sponsored by Republicans had Flores ahead by one to three points. As of October 9, prediction markets priced Gonzalez's chances at roughly 83 to 85 percent. Those prices reflect where traders are betting, not how voters are answering. Neither replaces a ballot.
The money. Through June 30, Gonzalez had raised $3.77 million and Flores $2.87 million, according to FEC filings. The Texan's latest tally shows Gonzalez with about $2.6 million in cash on hand against $425,000 in debt, and Flores with about $683,000 on hand against $591,622 in debt. Most of the Flores debt traces to the more than half a million dollars he lent his own primary campaign. In the most recent period, Flores outspent Gonzalez roughly two to one. Third-quarter reports are due October 15.
The Republican case. At the Harlingen rally on September 30, Vice President JD Vance told the crowd: "He's had a chance for a decade in Washington, D.C. and he hasn't done anything with it. So let's send him packing and send a patriot like Eric Flores." Flores told the crowd that "this community believes in hard work, strong families, and a secure border" and promised to "send Vicente Gonzalez a message he can understand: you're fired!" He told the Washington Reporter that Gonzalez "has spent nearly a decade in Congress as a glorified piece of furniture, collecting a paycheck and making millions." His campaign has also blamed Gonzalez for the federal shutdown fight and for Border Patrol agents going without pay. The Associated Press reported that Flores took the promise to "SUPPORT PRESIDENT TRUMP'S AGENDA" off his website as he turned to general-election voters, while keeping the President's endorsement pinned on X. "I just sell them myself, sell them what I stand for," Flores said.
The Democratic case. Gonzalez spent the past four weeks on official business:
Sept. 15 — Pressed the administration on the House floor to address the Corpus Christi water shortage.
Sept. 18 — Introduced a bill to federally recognize the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.
Sept. 21 — Introduced the bipartisan Empower Energy Exporting Communities Act with Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw. The bill would reinvest existing oil-and-gas revenue in South Texas roads, bridges, drinking water and schools.
Sept. 29 — Announced South Texas water-infrastructure priorities in House-passed legislation.
Oct. 1 — Delivered $6 million in federal funds for a Regional Nursing Training Facility through Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The facility is meant to strengthen "critical community partnerships" and expand "the supply of skilled healthcare workers serving the region."
The choice is plain. Flores asks voters to replace a five-term incumbent with a candidate aligned with the President. Gonzalez asks them to keep a Blue Dog Democrat who has crossed party lines and brought money home. Voters get the final word.
Gonzalez's campaign travel. On October 8, Fox News Digital reported that Gonzalez's campaign had reported nearly $20,000 in spending around trips he took with his wife. The total included $12,810 to Emirates Airlines and $359.27 at an Abu Dhabi hotel in December 2024, both listed as officially connected congressional-delegation costs. It also included two $561.38 payments to Walt Disney Resorts in 2025 and smaller charges in Zurich and Rome. Campaign manager Alex Philley replied: "Every dollar this campaign spends is legal and publicly disclosed, and these reports come straight from our own FEC filings." He said the Disney payments were tied to "a very important Financial Services trip" with Republican committee chairman French Hill. Of Rome he said: "This was not a vacation."
Flores's "$5,000 check" text. The American Prospect reported that a text sent on September 11, the day after a Republican "convention" rally in Dallas, read "Attachment: $5,000 Check … Pres. Trump just authorized it." The text linked to a "portal" that opened a Flores donation page. The page said contributions would go first toward retiring Flores's 2026 primary debt. According to the Prospect, Flores did not respond to a request for comment. Gonzalez said: "I've never seen anything like this in all my time in Washington."
Confirm you are registered and check your county at VoteTexas.gov.
Bring one of the seven acceptable photo IDs: Texas driver license, Texas Election Identification Certificate, Texas personal ID card, Texas handgun license, U.S. military ID with photo, U.S. citizenship certificate with photo, or U.S. passport. Voters 18–69 may use an ID expired up to four years; voters 70 and older may use one expired for any length of time. If you cannot reasonably obtain one, you may sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and show a supporting document such as a utility bill or voter registration certificate.
Look up early-voting locations and hours on your county elections website. During early voting, any location in your county will work.
Voting by mail? Your application must be received by October 23. Write your ID number on both the application and the return envelope.
Read the sources yourself. Every claim in this report links to its original publication.
South Texas Now is produced independently by the Flores Law Firm Media Machine. It is not affiliated with any candidate or candidate's committee, and no candidate or committee authorized this report. No campaign, party or political action committee paid for, reviewed or edited it. Opinion pieces elsewhere in this edition reflect the views of their authors.
WATCH · TO EVERY SOUTH TEXAN
Congressman Gonzalez, Speaking to All of His Constituents
On September 30, the same afternoon Vice President JD Vance rallied for his opponent in Harlingen, Gonzalez stood beside Vance and Governor Greg Abbott at the groundbreaking of the Saronic autonomous shipyard in Brownsville and chose unity over a counter-rally. "It warms my heart to see the political diversity that we have today," he told the crowd, speaking of what is possible "when we come together for something greater than ourselves." In a statement the same day he added: "We may not always agree on everything, but we can and should come together for good jobs, a stronger economy, a safer nation, and opportunities for our community."
Below, two ways to hear him in his own words: his message to South Texans on costs and bipartisanship, posted by his office on September 22, and the full KRGV broadcast of the Brownsville groundbreaking where he spoke to a bipartisan crowd.
The Brownsville shipyard groundbreaking, Sept. 30, 2026, where Gonzalez addressed a crowd that included the Vice President and the Governor. Video: KRGV.
EDITOR'S NOTE
A Word from Our Editor-in-Chief
When we published our first edition, I promised that South Texas Now would cover the people and issues shaping our region without the shouting that passes for news these days. This second edition keeps that promise. Our founding columnist, Joe A. Flores, Attorney, spent weeks in the Congressional Record, on gonzalez.house.gov, and in the pages of Texas newspapers building the case for Congressman Vicente Gonzalez's re-election in the 34th District. What he found is a record, not a slogan.
Gonzalez voted to cap insulin at $35 a month in South Texas, where diabetes touches nearly every family. His Housing Our Veterans Act was signed into law. He backed the 2018 Farm Bill, and when South Texas's last sugar mill closed, he helped deliver $280 million in relief for our farmers. His Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act passed the Senate this summer. The Farm Bureau has honored him, and our growers and ranchers continue to stand with him. On immigration, he draws a line most of us recognize: enforce the law, secure the border, and never lose our humanity in the process. And when six Afghan pilots who flew beside our troops were marked for death, he worked his contacts until every one of them was safe on American soil.
Whether you vote independent, Republican, or Democrat, or you are about to cast your first ballot, read this issue, follow the citations, and decide for yourself. That is what we built this magazine for. Thank you for reading, South Texas.
October 12 update. Thirty days changed a lot. The Vice President and the Speaker of the House both came to Harlingen for the Republican nominee. Fox News published a story on the Congressman's campaign travel that deserved a straight answer, and you will find one in this issue. We also found reporting on his opponent that voters should weigh for themselves. We kept every Second Edition story, added a video to each, and asked Joe A. Flores to write a new op-ed. Early voting begins October 19.
— Vanessa Flores, Editor-in-Chief
Vanessa Flores leads South Texas Now's youth-vote coverage and outreach. A graduate of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service and a two-time College Senator at Texas A&M University, she graduated with Honors — Cum Laude.
FOR YOUNG VOTERS
Work and Volunteer on the Gonzalez Campaign
If this issue moved you, don't stop at reading. The campaign is hiring and taking volunteers across the 34th District right now, and no experience is required for either. First-time voters are welcome.
Volunteer, Phone Bank, or Host an Event
The campaign's official sign-up form takes about a minute: name, email, zip code, and a checkbox for how you want to help — volunteering, phone banking and texting voters, or hosting an event in your neighborhood.
The campaign is hiring full-time field organizers at $4,000 a month in Brownsville and Corpus Christi. Organizers canvass door to door, run phone banks, and train volunteers. Campaign experience is not required, training happens on the job, and English/Spanish speakers are strongly preferred. To apply, email a resume with two professional references to [email protected]. Read the full job posting.
South Texas Now is not affiliated with the Gonzalez campaign. Both links above go to the campaign's own materials.
On the cover: Rep. Vicente Gonzalez speaks to supporters at a re-election event in South Texas. Photo: South Texas Now. The QR code on the cover links to the campaign website, vicentegonzalez.com.
ON THE COVER · OCTOBER 2026
The Campaign for the 34th District
U.S. Representative Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34) has represented South Texas in Congress since 2017. A McAllen attorney and Blue Dog Coalition co-chair, he has built a record of bipartisan wins on health care, veterans' housing, agriculture, and affordable housing — while pushing back on what he calls "hyperaggressive" ICE enforcement in South Texas communities. Thirty days before Election Day, in a district redrawn to defeat him, he is running on that record against Trump-endorsed Republican Eric Flores. This issue lays out the campaign, the controversies on both sides, and the record, so voters can decide for themselves.
Featured Op-Eds by Joe A. Flores, Attorney · Edited by Vanessa Flores, Editor-in-Chief
Vicente Gonzalez takes the oath as Congressman-elect of Texas's 15th District in December 2016, with his wife Lorena Saenz Gonzalez by his side, ahead of being sworn in to the 115th Congress in Washington. Source: @VoteVicente.
PAGE TWO
A South Texas Family
Congressman Gonzalez is married to Lorena Saenz Gonzalez, a former teacher and school administrator in Edinburg and McAllen. The couple lives in McAllen, in the district Gonzalez has represented for nearly a decade. Friends and colleagues describe Lorena as an active partner in his public life — from community toy drives to campaign events across South Texas.
Vicente and Lorena Saenz Gonzalez at his McAllen law office, the practice he built before Congress. Photo: Titans of the Texas Legislature.On the campaign trail: Gonzalez speaks to supporters at a re-election event in South Texas. Photo: South Texas Now.
OCTOBER 2026 · 30-DAY UPDATE
What Happened in TX-34 Between September 12 and October 12
Reported by South Texas Now · Edited by Vanessa Flores
Lead Story · The Campaign
Thirty Days Out, the Race Is Close and the Record Is on the Ballot
Where the race stands. The Legislature redrew the 34th District in 2025 into territory President Trump carried by ten points, and the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both rate it a toss-up. Yet the most recent independent public poll, from Texas Southern University's Barbara Jordan Center (700 likely voters, Aug. 18–22), had Gonzalez ahead 45 to 42, with Green candidate Eddie Espinoza at 3, Libertarian Chris Royal at 2, and 8 percent undecided. The Pollsmax average of public polling stands at Gonzalez 44.6, Flores 41.6. Flores's own campaign has circulated a June internal poll (Ragnar Research) showing him up 44–41. Through the June 30 FEC reports, Gonzalez had raised $3.77 million with $2.53 million on hand; Flores had raised $2.87 million with roughly $686,000 on hand after loaning his own campaign more than $500,000 in the primary. Third-quarter reports are due October 15.
The Republican surge. Vice President JD Vance headlined a rally for Flores at the Harlingen Convention Center on September 30, telling the crowd Gonzalez "has had a chance for a decade in Washington, D.C. and he hasn't done anything with it." Ten days later, Speaker Mike Johnson came to Harlingen at Flores's invitation for a closed-door meeting with law enforcement. Flores, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Army National Guard captain, told the rally: "This community believes in hard work, strong family and a secure border." The New York Times headlined its dispatch "Vance Visits South Texas as Support Fades in Key G.O.P. Stronghold," and the Associated Press reported that the redrawn map "may not turn out as Trump had hoped," with Flores himself telling the AP he expected a close race.
What Gonzalez did with the same thirty days. Rather than counter-program the Vice President, he appeared with Vance and Governor Abbott at the Brownsville shipyard groundbreaking and spoke of unity. On the record, the month looked like this:
Sept. 15 — Took the House floor to press President Trump to keep his promise of federal water funding for Corpus Christi, which is facing a water shortage (video below).
Sept. 18 — Introduced a bill to federally recognize the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.
Sept. 21 — Introduced, with Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, the bipartisan Empower Energy Exporting Communities Act to create a trust fund from existing oil-and-gas revenue for South Texas roads, bridges, drinking water, and schools. "It is only right that our region directly benefits from the operations it supports," he said.
Sept. 29 — Announced water-resources wins for South Texas in House-passed legislation, "worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle," and released a campaign ad tying high beef and brisket prices to tariff policy, covered by The Washington Post.
Oct. 1 — Delivered $6 million in federal funds for a new Regional Nursing Training Facility through Texas A&M University-Kingsville, to expand "the supply of skilled healthcare workers serving the region."
Oct. 3 — Delivered $919,000 he secured for a new La Villa fire engine.
Oct. 9 — Requested an extension to keep negotiating the Tomato Suspension Agreement that protects South Texas produce importers.
Oct. 10 — Endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal-employee union.
Oct. 11 — Renewed his call for an independent review of the death of Seaman Angelina Resendiz.
The contrast the Gonzalez campaign is drawing is simple: a decade of delivered projects against a first-time candidate whose support came from Washington. Flores's answer is that a decade is long enough. Gonzalez's answer is that the decade is the point: nearly eight billion dollars delivered, a bipartisan bill with Dan Crenshaw this month, and a vote against the law that cut SNAP and Medicaid in the Valley. Voters get the last word on November 3.
What Fox News Reported About Campaign Travel, and What the Record Shows
On October 8, Fox News Digital reported that Gonzalez's campaign had paid for travel that coincided with trips he took with his wife, Lorena: $4,767.53 in "spouse travel expense" tied to a 2019 Morocco trip under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act; $12,810 to Emirates Airlines and $359.27 at an Abu Dhabi hotel in December 2024, listed as "officially connected" congressional-delegation expenses; two $561.38 payments to Walt Disney Resorts in 2025; and smaller charges in Zurich, Rome, and at resorts in California and Pennsylvania. The story's hook was that Gonzalez had criticized Mayra Flores in 2025 for Disney spending, writing that she was "living the good life on donor's resources again."
The clarification. Every figure in the story came from the campaign's own FEC filings, which is to say they were publicly disclosed when they were made. Federal law permits a campaign to pay travel costs that are connected to a candidate's duties or campaign, including a spouse's travel in those circumstances, and the Morocco trip was a congressionally approved cultural exchange. Campaign manager Alex Philley told Fox News: "Every dollar this campaign spends is legal and publicly disclosed, and these reports come straight from our own FEC filings." He said the Disney payments were tied to "a very important Financial Services trip" with Rep. French Hill, the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee on which Gonzalez serves, and that the international trips, including a Rome visit during which Gonzalez met Pope Leo XIV, were official business. Fox News did not report any FEC complaint or finding of a violation, and South Texas Now found none.
Where fair criticism remains. The campaign did not answer every trip line by line, and the Disney payments were categorized only as "travel expenses." A congressman who has used the "good life" line against an opponent should expect it turned back on him, and the campaign should itemize those entries publicly. Readers should also know that the national Republican committee has run a sustained message operation against Gonzalez this cycle — on his 2021 Equality Act vote, on his legal work as a private attorney, and on immigration — and that he has answered on each, including two votes in 2025 that put him at odds with most of his party on transgender athletes in girls' sports. The campaign-travel story is a legitimate question with a documented answer, not a scandal.
Thirty Days Later, the Record Still Holds — and It Is Pulling Republican Votes
By Joe A. Flores, Attorney
In August I asked South Texans to judge Vicente Gonzalez by his paper trail, not his party label. A month before Election Day, the paper trail got longer and the argument got stronger.
A decade of record, not a season of slogans. Gonzalez has represented South Texas since January 2017. Texas Monthly, which is no one's idea of a Democratic organ, described him this spring as "something of a political unicorn, a Democrat deeply attuned to his district who is capable of winning thousands of Trump voters," noted that "from the start of his career, he has ranked among the most conservative Democrats in Congress," and reported that he "easily won his primary" on March 3. He co-chairs the Blue Dog Coalition. He chairs the Democratic oil-and-gas caucus and calls himself "as pro-energy as any Democrat has ever been." He is a gun collector who has supported gun ownership. He outperformed Kamala Harris by four points in a district swinging the other way. Ask him how, and he tells you: "All my farmer friends, a hundred percent of them are Trumpers. A hundred percent, not ninety-nine percent. But they support me." His explanation is the one that matters to a lawyer: "I think really it comes down to trust. I do what I feel is right for my district even when it's not popular in my party."
That is why Republican votes are moving. On September 30, while the Vice President was in Harlingen urging voters to "send him packing," Gonzalez was in Brownsville thanking the Vice President and the Governor at a shipyard groundbreaking and telling a bipartisan crowd that "it warms my heart to see the political diversity that we have today." Three weeks earlier he had filed an energy bill with Dan Crenshaw. The month before that he brought $6 million home for a nursing school in Kingsville and $919,000 for a fire truck in La Villa. Independent polling has him ahead in a district drawn to defeat him, and the Associated Press now reports that the redistricting "may not turn out as Trump had hoped." Balanced politics is not a weakness in South Texas. It is the whole case.
What voters are entitled to know about the challenger. Eric Flores is a veteran and a former federal prosecutor, and nothing here questions his service. But a first-time candidate asks to be judged on his campaign, and three episodes from this fall deserve a sober look.
First, the text. On September 11, the day after President Trump floated a $5,000 "dividend" for every adult if Republicans keep Congress, voters received a text from Flores's campaign reading "Attachment: $5,000 Check … Pres. Trump just authorized it," with a link to "submit approval ASAP." The American Prospect reported that the link went to a donation page, and that the page's own fine print said contributions would be "first designated to 2026 Primary Debt retirement" — the more than $500,000 Flores loaned his own campaign. Flores did not respond to the Prospect's request to explain how the message was not deceptive. The CBS News video below explains the underlying promise. A former prosecutor knows what a reasonable recipient would understand that text to mean. Gonzalez said as much to Fox News the week it happened: his opponent is "sending fundraising messages asking for donors to help him pay back his personal primary campaign debt instead of trying to win his race." (Fox News, Sept. 16.)
Second, the website. The Associated Press reported that Flores removed the pledge to "SUPPORT PRESIDENT TRUMP'S AGENDA" from his campaign site while keeping the Trump endorsement pinned atop his X account. His own explanation to the AP: "If I tell them the red meat issues or I tell them, you know, oh, Republican, Democrat, or anything like that, you lose them. I just sell them myself." That is an honest admission that the agenda he was recruited to carry does not sell in the 34th District — which, as Courier Texas documented on October 1, has already felt that agenda in SNAP rolls down nearly 690,000 statewide since July 2025 and in ACA premiums that roughly doubled for Valley families when the enhanced credits expired. Flores told VOZ in May that the law "has put more money into the pockets of people in South Texas." Gonzalez voted no, called the final version "One Big Betrayal," and said he could not in good conscience support a bill that would "make South Texans sicker and poorer while making the ultra-rich even richer." (Courier Texas, Oct. 1.) On the scrubbed website, his rebuttal was blunter: Flores is "shamelessly taking his 'Trump Endorsement' language off all his political ads," and "he's not fooling Democrats or Republicans for that matter." The Valley's SNAP and premium numbers are the reason that line lands.
Third, the lawsuit. Raw Story reported in February that Flores served for about two months in 2025 as lead defense counsel for Edinburg CISD employees sued by a parent who alleged a coach ordered a minor to exercise nude; Flores signed a plea to the jurisdiction arguing the employees were "exercising judgment" and "no defendant used excessive force," then withdrew in November when a more senior partner took over. Every defendant is entitled to counsel, and I will not pretend otherwise. Flores said at the time that "the District disputes the allegations." His successor on the case, Kevin O'Hanlon, said the handoff was about workload. Voters can decide how much weight that carries. What they should reject is any suggestion, from either side, that representing a client is proof of the client's conduct — and Gonzalez's own remark in September that Flores would be "back representing child molesters" went further than the record supports, as Fox News noted. Both camps should keep it to the facts.
The debate that has not happened. In 2024, Gonzalez debated Mayra Flores on NBC 23 and CBS 4. As of this writing, no televised debate between Gonzalez and Eric Flores has aired or been announced. The Gonzalez campaign posted on October 11: "Who remembers when our opponent actually had the guts for televised debates? Come se dice: Not Eric?" Flores supporters responded in the same thread that, according to Flores, the station cancelled a planned debate. South Texas Now could not independently confirm either account and has offered publicly to host a debate on any station in the district. The offer stands. A challenger who tells Fox News that "the voters are finally asking the questions that South Texas deserves to hear" should welcome an hour of them on live television.
The rebuttal, in one paragraph. Strip away the adjectives and Gonzalez's answer to every charge above is the same: look at what each man has actually done. Flores says Gonzalez votes with the far left; Texas Monthly ranks Gonzalez "among the most conservative Democrats in Congress," and he outran his party's presidential ticket by four points in a district Trump carried. Flores says a decade produced nothing; the decade produced, by Gonzalez's count, nearly eight billion dollars for the district, and this month alone a nursing school, a fire engine, a water fight on the House floor, and a bill co-written with a Republican. Flores sells a text about a $5,000 check and a website without the word "Trump"; Gonzalez calls that "not fooling Democrats or Republicans," and the record backs him. That is why Republican and independent voters are in play, and why the challenger's campaign has gone quiet on the agenda it was recruited to carry.
Thirty days ago I said read the sources and decide. The sources now include a shipyard speech, a Crenshaw bill, a nursing school, a fundraising text, a scrubbed website, and an empty debate stage. Read them. Then vote, starting October 19.
Joe A. Flores is an attorney in Corpus Christi and the founding columnist of South Texas Now. This column is his opinion. South Texas Now is not affiliated with, and this column was not authorized by, any candidate or candidate's committee.
Context for the Flores fundraising text: CBS News on the $5,000 "dividend" promise it referenced (Sept. 10, 2026). Video: CBS News. Read the reporting on the text itself at The American Prospect.
South Texas Now is putting a single question to both campaigns and invites each candidate to answer it on camera. We print the question, what each man has already said in public that bears on it, and we will publish any answer we receive, unedited.
Will you commit, before early voting opens on October 19, to one televised debate in the 34th District, on any station, and tell South Texans the single thing you have done in the last ten years that most entitles you to their vote?
Vicente Gonzalez — on the record so far
"For eight years, we've delivered almost eight billion dollars in federal funds to our district. We pay really close attention to our constituents." (Texas Monthly, April 2026.) "We may not always agree on everything, but we can and should come together for good jobs, a stronger economy, a safer nation, and opportunities for our community." (KRGV, Sept. 30, 2026.) His campaign's October 11 post points to his 2024 televised debate and faults his opponent for the absence of one this year. On his opponent's attacks, to Fox News: "Trust me, he's not fooling Democrats or Republicans for that matter." (Fox News, Sept. 16, 2026.)
Eric Flores — on the record so far
"This community believes in hard work, strong family and a secure border." (KRGV, Sept. 30, 2026.) "This isn't a contract election, it's a contrast election." (Fox News, Sept. 16, 2026.) Supporters say a planned debate was cancelled by the station. South Texas Now invites his campaign to respond; this page will be updated when it does.
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Instituto de Cultura Hispánica de Corpus Christi is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Photographs supplied by the Instituto.
FROM THE SECOND EDITION · AUGUST 2026 · NOW WITH VIDEO
Why South Texas Should Vote for Vicente Gonzalez
By Joe A. Flores, Attorney
South Texas doesn't need another politician who talks in slogans. It needs a Congressman who shows up in the record — in bill text, in floor speeches, in votes that actually became law. I'm writing this for every South Texan reading it, whether you register independent, Democrat, or Republican, and especially for the young voters in South Texas who are about to cast their first ballots and decide what comes next. Vicente Gonzalez isn't a divisive figure — his record shows a Congressman who brings people together across the aisle, not one who drives them apart. His 10-year tenure in Congress leaves a paper trail. Below, I walk through four wins he can point to, the farmers and ranchers who back him up, and his position — in his own words — on how ICE should and shouldn't operate in our communities. I'm not asking you to take my word for it. Read the sources yourself. Watch the floor speeches. Then decide.
01 · Health Care
Capping the Cost of Insulin
South Texas has one of the highest diabetes rates in the nation, and more than a quarter of South Texas residents lack insurance. Gonzalez voted for the Affordable Insulin Now Act (H.R. 6833), capping insulin co-pays at $35 a month, and for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which caps Medicare Part D drug costs at $2,000 a year and lets Medicare negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers.
Gonzalez joins Harlingen community leaders for the ribbon cutting of Valley Regional Medical Center's new 24/7 emergency room. Photo: Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez via X.
Gonzalez's own bill, the Housing Our Veterans Act (H.R. 6810), was written into the FY23 Omnibus Appropriations Act and signed into law — one of only two bills he has personally authored that have been enacted, according to GovTrack. "I am proud that my legislation, H.R. 6810, the Housing Our Veterans Act, was included in this critical legislation," Gonzalez said. He also voted for the PACT Act, the largest expansion of veterans' benefits in three decades, signed into law on August 10, 2022.
Gonzalez presents memorial flags at the groundbreaking of the new VFW Post 2410, built with funds he secured. Photo: Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez.Gonzalez welcomes Hidalgo County Veterans Services to his Washington office to discuss veterans' access to affordable health care. Photo: Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez via X.
Gonzalez voted yes on the 2018 Farm Bill, which passed the House 369-47 and the Senate 87-13 before being signed into law. It protects South Texas sugar, citrus, cotton, sorghum, and cattle producers, and it established a $25 million Citrus Trust Fund for South Texas's citrus industry. "I am proud to support the 2018 Farm Bill, a product of true bipartisanship," Gonzalez said at the time.
On June 22, 2026, the Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which incorporated Gonzalez's own Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act. "By working across the aisle, I helped pass into law an affordable housing package — which includes my bill, the Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act — to increase housing development, cut red tape and lower costs for families!" Gonzalez wrote.
In Congress, fighting for his constituents: Gonzalez presses the HUD Secretary on South Texas housing and labor shortages before the House Financial Services Committee. Photo: Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez.
In May 2021, the Texas Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau Federation gave Gonzalez their "Friend of Farm Bureau" award. "I am honored to receive the 'Friend of Farm Bureau' award," Gonzalez said. "Not only are these farmers, ranchers, and their families a cornerstone of our region's economy..." He has since secured $100 million for cattle health, feral swine and fencing programs, and disaster assistance for South Texas producers.
When South Texas's last sugar mill closed in February 2024 amid the region's water crisis, Gonzalez helped secure $280 million in federal relief for affected farmers. Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening thanked the South Texas congressional delegation by name: "Texas Farm Bureau appreciates the efforts of U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as the efforts U.S. Reps. Monica De La Cruz, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, in securing this important funding." Gonzalez added, "I'm proud to see our agricultural producers are finally getting some relief." The Texas Farm Bureau's AGFUND endorsed Gonzalez in his 2022 re-election bid.
Working both sides of the aisle for Texas producers: Gonzalez with Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, Reps. Will Hurd and Henry Cuellar, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Photo: Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has drawn a consistent line between enforcing immigration law and how that enforcement is carried out. After a wave of ICE raids across South Texas in July 2026, he said: "Every nation has a right to enforce its immigration laws, but there is a clear line between enforcing the law and the inhumane tactics being used across South Texas and the country. I am for strong border security, obeying our immigration laws, and deporting criminals, but I do not agree with the hyperaggressive ICE raids that have left innocent people dead on our streets, including American citizens. Instead of focusing on the deportation of violent criminals — something we can all agree on — this Administration has chosen to detain and deport hardworking medical professionals, nuns, construction and hospitality workers, DACA recipients, and more who are simply pursuing a better future for themselves and their families."
In March 2026, he introduced the Say No to Warrantless Searches Act to codify Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless ICE home raids: "Warrantless immigration raids on private properties are setting a dangerous, unconstitutional precedent in this country — not just for immigrant families, but for every American family. I refuse to let South Texans live in fear." He also co-introduced the VISIBLE Act, which would require ICE agents to display visible identification during enforcement actions.
In a 2023 NPR interview, Gonzalez summarized his position: "We need to enforce American immigration laws in a humane way. We're not going to rip children out of mothers' arms." He has also pressed for accountability after the wrongful detention of U.S. citizen Francisco Erwin Galicia by CBP and ICE in 2019, saying, "It is impermissible for an agent of CBP or ICE to detain a United States citizen who has a valid Texas driver's license."
Immigration the right way: Gonzalez and Sister Norma Pimentel of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley urge Speaker Paul Ryan to act on DACA legislation for Dreamers. Photo: Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez.Gonzalez and then-Rep. Filemon Vela were among the Texans who joined the 2018 discharge petition to force a House vote on protections for Dreamers. Photos: The Texas Tribune via Houston Public Media.
Gonzalez's record isn't only local. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, he publicly broke with his own party's administration in real time, tweeting: "There's no way to hide it. The situation in Afghanistan is another shame on this admin... The US must do everything in its power to help our partners & allies to safety & protect our national security."
That criticism turned into action. As co-chair and founder of the Congressional Uzbekistan Caucus, Gonzalez used his personal relationship with Uzbekistan's foreign minister to help secure safe passage out of Afghanistan for six Afghan pilot allies and their families — U.S.-trained pilots the Taliban had marked for death for aiding American forces. "We saved six of our pilot allied friends' lives and their family. They're all living here in the United States safely and started a new life," Gonzalez said, recounting the episode five years later. In 2024, he also joined a bipartisan group of House Democrats voting to rebuke the administration's handling of the withdrawal.
From capping insulin costs in South Texas to negotiating with foreign ministers to save American allies, Gonzalez's supporters point to Afghanistan as proof his reach extends well beyond South Texas — a Congressman who combines hometown constituent service with hands-on foreign policy influence.
An Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano over Kabul — the aircraft flown by the U.S.-trained pilots Gonzalez helped bring to safety through Uzbekistan. Photo: Staff Sgt. Larry E. Reid Jr., U.S. Air Force, public domain, via DVIDS.
Hear the Congressman in his own words on the House floor, and read independent coverage of his record.
TO THE VOTERS · 31 SECONDS
"I grew up in a military family"
The Congressman's first TV ad of the general election — half a minute, straight to South Texas voters, on the $6 billion he has brought home for roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals.
South Texas Now — The Balanced Media Machine with a Latino Flavor
For legal counsel, case consultations, and more balanced coverage from Joe A. Flores, Attorney, visit the firm online and follow along on social media.
