Rep. Vicente Gonzalez generated quite the controversy in March of 2024 when he compared Latinos who voted for Donald Trump to “Jews for Hitler”.
U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat from McAllen, compared Hispanic Trump supporters to “Jews for Hitler,” prompting fierce backlash from Republicans as he runs for reelection in a mostly Hispanic South Texas district.
In an interview with The New Republic published Monday, Gonzalez warned that Democrats could soon lose support among socially conservative Hispanic voters in South Texas as Republicans increasingly invest in the area. He said Hispanic voters are largely turned off by the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the top of the Republican ticket, including former President Donald Trump casting Mexican immigrants as “rapists.”
“If they didn’t have that racist, divisive element within their party, they would have a lot of Latinos, but they can’t seem to shake that off,” Gonzalez told the magazine. “The rhetoric you hear from the Republican Party is shameful and disgraceful for Latinos. And you know, when you see ‘Latinos for Trump,’ to me it is like seeing ‘Jews for Hitler,’ almost, you know?”
This statement drew swift condemnation from the GOP, and especially former Rep. Mayra Flores, who is challenging Gonzalez yet again in 2024.
“Shame on Vicente Gonzalez for referring to conservative Latinos in this manner. He forgets they are his constituents, too,” Flores said on social media. “We need to elect new leadership in November, and that's exactly what the Rio Grande Valley will do.”
Other Republicans echoed Flores’ criticism. The Congressional Leadership PAC, a fundraising operation tied to House Republican leadership, issued a statement calling the remark “absolutely disgusting” and pressuring voters “into voting a certain way based on their ethnicity.” The National Republican Congressional Committee also called on Gonzalez to apologize.
In an ungainly manner, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez is sounding the alarm about our future prospects in the Rio Grande Valley. The GOP started winning over voters in this area in 2020, and the Democrats have seen their rock-solid coalition here fray.
The question for Gonzalez is whether or not a rematch of 2022 will spell doom for his tenure in Washington, DC.
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Rep. Vicente Gonzalez is one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the nation. The Rio Grande Valley has trended sharply to the right during the Trump era. That’s why I’ve included him in a group of 16 incumbents or open-seat races we can help defend. #SaveTheMajority Fund.
Vicente Gonzalez for Texas-34
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What’s the Big Idea?
TX-34 election results from 2022.
THIS DISTRICT LEANS DEMOCRATIC, with a D+9 PVI
The Rio Grande Valley has been in Democratic hands since time immemorial, though this was achieved in the past through voter suppression and Jim Crow laws excluding Latino voters from participation. As Texas grows, so does the need for representation, and this sliced and diced the Rio Grande Valley into the ‘fajita strips’ to ensure maximum representation from Latino voters due to the VRA.
The 34th district came into being in 2012 and centers on Cameron County in South Texas. What is different in the 2020s is that it does not snake up past Corpus Christi but instead includes more of Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley. This was done to make the other Rio Grande Valley districts weaker and more amenable to flipping to the GOP.
Even with this jiggering of the lines, the trends are very clearly against the Democratic Party. According to Dave’s Redistricting App, Hillary Clinton won the area under the current lines 66%-30% in 2016. However, Joe Biden only won this area 57.3% to 41.8% in 2020. Rep. Mayra Flores became the first member of the GOP to represent the Rio Grande Valley in a 2022 special election, but this was under the lines used for the 2010s. Because mapmakers drew Rep. Vicente Gonzalez into her district, the pair faced off in the 2022 general election. Gonzalez won 52.7% to 44.2%, a further erosion in support. We hope the larger turnout for the Presidential election returns the district to something close to the 2020 results.
Here’s where the 34th district race will be won.
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Rio Grande Valley: This is the home base of Vicente Gonzalez, and it is important that he turn out as many of the Democratic voters found here as possible. Trump seemingly found new voters in the RGV, so it is important that we keep the margins from at least 2020 if not from before.
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Kingsville: In the northern section of the district, the area around this small city is the only remaining portion of the district that still reliably votes for Democratic candidates. It is important that Gonzalez not neglect these voters as well in the scramble to find enough voters to retain this seat.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
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Harlingen area: This area is an exception to the trends found in the RGV, and there are quite a few red precincts found in this area. Vicente Gonzalez better hope that this is the only area in the RGV not in his corner in the district, or otherwise that could spell trouble.
- Between Brownsville and Corpus Christi: The total votes may be small, but in a close race, every vote counts. These counties have turned into swing ones in the Trump era. Gonzalez must make sure the counties do not swing away from his candidacy and support Flores again.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez: The Best Ally for the Valley
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez attends an immigration press conference with President Biden in early 2024.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez was born in Corpus Christi in 1967. He dropped out of high school in 11th grade, but he eventually earned a GED. He would go on to receive a degree in aviation business administration before obtaining a Juris Doctor from Texas A&M Law School. He would go on to found a private practice in 1997 and spend the next 20 years there.
Gonzalez became more interested in politics when Rep. Ruben Hinojosa retired from the 15th district in 2016. He won the primary that year and then cruised in the general election. 2018 was much the same story, but 2020 was a different race. He only narrowly defeated future colleague Rep. Monica De la Cruz 50.5% to 47.6%. That and having his home drawn into the 34th district led him to abandon the 15th district and run against Rep. Mayra Flores in 2022.
He is a moderate on some issues, as evidenced by him being one of the “Unbreakable Nine” during the Build Back Better debate. He’s also bucked the party on other issues, such as voting against an assault weapons ban. He still votes with President Biden’s stated position 97% of the time!
There are issues where he shines as well. Immigration is a tricky issue in the Rio Grande Valley, as many living there have family on both sides of the border. The detention facilities and border patrol also provide much needed jobs. Even so, Gonzalez wants to improve pathways for immigrants to become citizens, and he especially wants to place the DACA program on firmer footing. He applauded Biden’s order to keep families together. Gonzalez was even able to support the Bipartisan Border Security Bill that died due to Trump opposing it.
Another issue Gonzalez leads on is health care. South Texas has one of the largest pockets of uninsured and underinsured people in America. To help with the number of medical professionals in the community, he supports fully funding the two new medical schools that have opened in his district. Gonzalez would continue the enhanced subsidiesfor the ACA. . He would increase Medicaid reimbursements for doctors. He would vote for universal Medicaid expansion as Texas has refused to sign on. He is a member of the Medicare for All Caucus as well!
Gonzalez is concerned with inflation eating away at the fixed incomes that many seniors rely on. He would strengthen Social Security through the Social Security 2100 Act and through the elimination of the Windfall Elimination Provision. He is also leading the charge against those who would scam and abuse seniors financially by strengthening protections for consumers.
To see where Rep. Vicente Gonzalez lines up on other issues, visit the issues pages on his campaign website AND his official House website. I’ve included links to both!
Mayra Flores: A MAGA True Believer
Former Rep. Mayra Flores was the first member of the GOP elected to the House from the RGV.
Mayra Flores was born to migrant farmworkers in Mexico in 1986. Her family moved to Texas in her youth, and she became an American citizen at the age of 14. Her family moved frequently in order to pick cotton and other crops in South Texas. Flores would eventually graduate from High School and attend South Texas College. She worked as a respiratory therapist and for Hispanic outreach for the GOP in Hidalgo County before being elected to Congress.
In her youth, Flores was a Democrat just like her parents. She switched affiliations over time and ran in the 34th district special election in 2022. She would go on to win that race by a commanding 50.9% to 43.4% to become the first member of the GOP elected to a seat in the Rio Grande Valley.
Her tenure in Congress was short though, as she had to face Gonzalez for a full term. Flores was and is a MAGA true believer that is out of step with the Rio Grande Valley. She voted against improving our electoral system to prevent an insurrection. Flores signed on to the Life at Conception Act, which would end birth control and IVF protections. She even voted against protecting same-sex marriage.
Flores has repeatedly denied that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and has called him a criminal that deserves to be impeached. That tracks with the fact that she has posted QAnon conspiracy theories to social media before, though she claims she doesn’t support it. She even blames Capitol Police officers and Antifa for colluding in the 1/6 insurrection!
Another conspiracy theory Flores supports involves why she thinks Democratic candidates want an “open border”. She accuses the Democrats of supporting child sex trafficking through keeping the border open! Even though she immigrated to this country herself, she is all about closing the door to others behind her.
Not only that, but Flores is an anti-abortion extremist as well. Flores claims that abortion is what led her to join the GOP in the first place. She calls the Dobbs decision a “dream come true”, and she consistently voted against protections for abortion rights in her short Congressional tenure. She would criminalize abortion and supports Texas’ anti-abortion crusade.
Flores has shown particular venom towards the LGBTQ+ community, and especially people who are transgender. She fearmongers about women’s sports and children transitioning constantly and claims Democrats are pushing to “take away kids whose parents don’t agree to transitions.”
The DCCC opposition file and her campaign website provide even more horrible truths about her stances on the issues, and even Wikipedia has some good opposition information on her.
How Can You Help?
In terms of fundraising, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has traditionally been a weak fundraiser. He only raised $428k in the Q2 reporting period and has $1.68M on hand. Former Rep. Flores typically has done better, but she also has a high burn rate. This is likely due to direct-mail fundraising. She raised $1.19M for the Q2 reporting period and has $1.09M to spend. Gonzalez risks being outraised in this race — send him a donation today by clicking the link at either the top or the bottom of the page!
Both parties expect the Rio Grande Valley to be competitive this election cycle based upon the advertising reservations being made in the key media market - Harlingen, TX. Granted, some of the ads could target Texas’ 15th district or Texas’ 28th district instead. The GOP-leaning Congressional Leadership Fund has pledged to spend $1.9M here, while the Dem-leaning House Majority PAC is chipping in $1.6M.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez needs a GOTV apparatus that works to convince the Tejanos and other Latino groups to return to the Democratic fold. That puts canvassing and door knocking at a premium for this district. Texas is a big state and it is hard to drive across it to volunteer. Please consider doing it if you live as close as the San Antonio area — especially if you speak Spanish.
I could not find any recent events for Gonzalez, so it is probably best to inquire at one of his district offices or to sign up to volunteer using the links at the top and bottom of this article.
Former Rep. Mayra Flores cannot be counted out of this race. She has to rely on the changes in the Rio Grande Valley continuing in order to win. The shift from 2016 to 2020 was completely unexpected, so who knows how this area of Texas will decide to vote in 2024. Could more Tejanos and Latinos in the area defect to Trump? That’s the million-dollar question here.
There’s a dichotomy between 2020 and 2022 results here. According to Daily Kos Elections, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez is in the 77th most vulnerable Democratic seat based on the strength of the Presidential results in 2020. But that’s not the whole story, as this was the 30th closest House race in 2022. Presidential and midterm electorates are entirely different beasts, and Gonzalez had better hope that robust participation of an electorate ready to vote for Joe Biden comes out.
The question is whether or not Gonzalez is truly ready for a rematch of 2022 given the fraying coalition in the Rio Grande Valley.
Vicente Gonzalez for Texas-34
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