Most folks probably haven’t heard of Texas’ 34th Congressional District. It’s relatively new, created after the 2010 census. It covers an area that extends from east of San Antonio to the tip of the southern border. In June of this year, Mayra Flores (R) surprised many by winning the election in what has historically been a Democratic stronghold. Now she faces re-election and a Democratic opponent in Vicente Gonzales. That in itself might not be all that newsworthy, but the reasons Gonzales is running in the 34th District, not to mention his personal attacks on Ms. Flores, show just how desperate the “people’s party” is to maintain their hold in South Texas.

To say Ms. Flores’ win earlier this year surprised the Democrats is probably putting it mildly. In a field of four–two from each of the parties– she won with 50.9% of the vote. Her Democratic opponents together garnered 47.53% of the vote. Her closest Democratic opponent received only 43.37% of the votes cast. Even so, the Democrats continued to claim the district was firmly in their pocket.

Something her opponent in the upcoming mid-term election has taken to heart.

You see, Vicente Gonzales currently holds a seat in Congress. Yes, you read that right. Gonzales has represented the 15th District for the last three terms. But, instead of running for re-election in his current district, he’s chosen to go up against Ms. Flores. Why? Because the 34th is supposed to be a “safer” district for Democrats than his own 15th District.

Hmmm. Why would an incumbent assume he had a better chance at getting elected in a new district, one that just voted in a Republican, than in his own district where his constituents know him? Could it be because they do know him and realize he isn’t the best to represent their interests in Washington?

Could the Dems be losing their choke hold on South Texas and the Hispanic voting public they’ve long relied upon? The fact Ms. Flores “has a higher net favorability among Hispanic voters in the U.S. than U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), D-New York” seems to be an indication that’s the case–and not just in Texas.

So why did Gonzales decide to go up against her?

We might never know for certain, but the fact the latest round of redistricting made his district more competitive has to be at least part of the reason. In fact, he won over his Republican opponent by less than 3% in the last election. I don’t know about you, but my guess is he’s running scared in his own district and now has his sights on the 34th, thinking he can bully his way into that district and maintain his hold on power.

And bullying is exactly what he and his supporters have been doing.

Political blogger Jerry Hale received $1000 from the Gonzales campaign last year and another $1200 on June 24th of this year for “advertising services”.

[He] referred to the congresswoman as “Miss Frijoles” and “Miss Enchiladas.” He accused her of “playing the race card” and called her a “cotton pickin’ liar” over her claims that she worked in cotton fields with her immigrant parents as a child.

But Gonzales tried to distance himself from these attacks. He claimed to have never read the blog and didn’t condone the attacks. We’re supposed to accept his comments without question.

It might be easier to do if Gonzales himself didn’t stoop low to discredit Flores. In September 2022, he claimed she “stole” the special election. According to him, using out-of-state Republican money to help finance her campaign was wrong.

“There’s millions and millions of dollars from outside our region and outside our state that are coming here to try to steal our elections and take away your value and take away the process that we rely on, which is elections,” Gonzalez said during a “Vote Blue” event alongside Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). “They stole that last election. They spent $3 million to our $250,000, they campaigned for two years, and they still only won by less than 1%.”

A couple of things to point out. First, that event was held in Texas–with a California Dem supporting his candidacy. Hmmm. Who paid for Schiff to be there? How many out-of-state dollars/services/whatever went into promoting the event?

Second, proving how Gonzales is willing to twist the truth for his own benefit, are the election results themselves. According to Ballotpedia, his “less than 1%” statement is full of it. As noted above, she received almost 8% more of the vote than her closest opponent. But that doesn’t look nearly as good to the Democratic faithful. So Gonzales muddied the waters with his 1% comment. She won with slightly less than 51% of the overall vote. But his own logic could be turned around to note that even though the Dems spent a quarter of a million in an historically Democratic district, the lost by almost 8% or that their two candidates combined could only garner 47% of the vote.

But that’s not the only thing he’s said about Ms. Flores. Earlier this month, he said she “can’t think for herself, can’t speak for herself, can’t act for herself, can’t vote for herself.” Then, following the game plan set forth by others before him–including Beto O’Rourke–he tried to politicize the tragedy of the Uvalde shooting to prove his point.

Her response strikes straight into the heart of Gonzales’ campaign: “entitled liberals like Vicente Gonzalez simply refuse to accept that not all Hispanics believe like they want us to.”

One of the main issues facing th two candidates is the border crisis. Ms. Flores has made her stance quite clear.

The first bill she introduced dealt with “strengthening law enforcement communication and coordination on the U.S.-Mexico border through the creation of physical hubs where federal, state, local, and tribal police can come together under one roof and work collectively to defeat cartels that make billions of dollars smuggling and trafficking people and drugs.”

Contrast that with Gonzales, who until recently made it clear he didn’t feel there was a border crisis. Then, as the election neared and he started reading the room, he offered up a bill being touted as one even Trump would like. His great plan? Create safe zones at the border of Guatemala and Mexico where we would interview those wanting to enter our country and where they would stay until granted asylum. There are so many issues with the bill that it’s farcical. It also smacks of desperation.

The same desperation we’re seeing here in Texas and elsewhere around the nation as the mid-terms grow closer.

If you live in the 34th District, remember what issues are important. Look to see who is actually out there working in your best interests and who is district shopping for what he thinks is the easiest district to win and who has resorted to personal attacks in an attempt to maintain his political power. For the rest of us, use the 34th as an example of what to look for in the upcoming election. Think about how loudly the Dems would scream if a Republican was shopping around for a district to win like Gonzales is. Think how they would be demanding immediate censure if a Republican used the same language about a Democratic Congresswoman that Gonzales has about Flores. It is time to stop the double-standard. It is time to vote for the candidate who best represents the interests of the district.

Here’s hoping Mayra Flores repeats the special election and wins against Gonzales.