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To: Interested Parties
From: Madison Andrus, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: March 3, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Eric Flores
Vicente Gonzalez has cemented himself as a leader that South Texas voters know and trust. He grew up alongside many of his constituents, going to the same schools and walking the same streets. Raised in a military family that instilled in him the values of hard work and helping others, Vicente Gonzalez became a fierce fighter for his neighbors, working hard to bring good-paying jobs back to the district and protecting Social Security and Medicare for South Texas families. Vicente knows firsthand how access to education can open doors for Texans, that’s why he’s fought for more educational opportunities. Vicente has also made lowering costs for everyday families paramount in his work – including capping the price of insulin for older Americans using Medicare – and helped deliver nearly $7 billion to South Texas.
Eric Flores is completely unfit to represent South Texas. He’s far more concerned with rubbing shoulders with D.C. elites, defending abusers, and selling out Texans than being the fighter they need in Congress.
Eric Flores Has Forgotten Where He Came From, Fallen in Line Behind D.C. Politicians
As South Texans struggle with higher prices and a flailing economy, Eric Flores rushed to endorse the same policies that are crushing working families. Flores endorsed Republicans’ disastrous Big, Beautiful Bill that threatens to rip health care from nearly 60,000 people in TX-34, betrayed Texas farmers, and threatened affordable food access for more than 62,000 working families in the district. Furthermore, Flores has called the Affordable Care Act a failure, despite the fact that tens of thousands of South Texans rely on the ACA to access health care. Now that his party bosses have caused insurance premiums to skyrocket by nearly 200% by letting ACA tax credits expire, South Texans are getting hit harder than nearly anyone else.
Vicente Gonzalez’s record couldn’t be more different. Vicente is known for crossing the aisle when it’s right for South Texas, and he’s dedicated his career to putting money back in South Texans’ pockets. As a local lawyer, Vicente represented working families who’ve been hurt by corporations and insurance companies shirking accountability, even recovering millions in tax dollars for South Texas school districts. In Congress, he’s brought billions back to the district to support local families, infrastructure, and small businesses.
Supported By, and A Supporter Of, Abusers
Flores claims to have locked up the worst criminals and put child predators behind bars. The reality of his time as a lawyer tells a very different story. Eric defended a local Texas coach who was accused of forcing at least four students to exercise naked. Flores’ defense of the accused pedophile didn’t claim that the abuse never happened, but instead that the coach was simply “exercising judgment” and that forcing minors to exercise nude did not constitute “excessive force.” If Eric Flores believes it’s okay to treat Texas’ kids that way, he has no business anywhere near the halls of Congress.
Flores’ cozy relationships with accused abusers doesn’t end there. He has been supported by, and pictured with, disgraced Texas political operative Aron Peña on multiple occasions. Peña was forced to resign from his position in Mayra Flores’ office after multiple women came forward with allegations of abuse and sexual harassment.
Texas voters are tired of dirty politicians protecting one another from consequences. They want a representative that will fight for them, not just their D.C. buddies when they get in trouble.
Texas’ Economy is In Freefall – Eric Flores’ Allies are to Blame
Republicans’ heavy-handed immigration enforcement is devastating Texas’ economy and workforce because, rather than just targeting violent criminals, Flores’ allies are going after working, law-abiding Texans and legal residents who are key to the region’s economy. Houses that once took three months to build are sitting half completed after 11 months, and suppliers are losing millions of dollars and laying off dozens of employees. Oil wells are shuttering, and the cost of sweeping tariff taxes are nearing $21 billion.
Flores has also celebrated the reckless tariffs that are driving prices up across the board on everything from groceries to building materials, even as new reports reveal that these tariffs are costing families upwards of $1,700. Flores couldn’t even be bothered to speak up for Texas farmers and ranchers as Argentinian beef flooded the country, endangering domestic supply and potentially introducing devastating disease back into the region.
Vicente Gonzalez is working every day to protect South Texas from Republicans’ betrayals. He’s introduced legislation to support farmers, protect Texas agricultural jobs from damaging tariff agendas, help TX-34 small business owners, and is fighting for affordable health care for South Texas families.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: Trump-backed candidate in key TX seat defended coach accused of making kid exercise nude
“A Donald Trump-backed Republican candidate for a key Texas U.S. House seat who touts his record locking up child predators served as lead defense counsel for officials including a high school football coach accused of forcing a minor to perform exercises nude, court records show.” [Raw Story, 2/16/26]
HEADLINE: ‘South Texas will never be red again’: Home builders warn GOP over Trump’s immigration raids [Politico, 02/14/26]
HEADLINE: Republicans are freaking out about Hispanic voters after a Texas upset
“Republicans are in full-out panic mode over their plunging support with Hispanic voters after losing a special election in a ruby-red Texas district over the weekend.
On Saturday, a Democrat posted a 14-point victory in a Fort Worth-based state senate district President Donald Trump had won by 17 points in 2024, a staggering swing that was powered by significant shifts across the district’s Hispanic areas.” [Politico, 02/03/26]
HEADLINE: Congressman Vicente Gonzalez Votes Against Stripping Health Care from South Texans [Texas Border Business, 11/13/15]
HEADLINE: Texas lawmakers urge Trump to extend tomato trade agreement with Mexico [Texas Tribune, 05/11/25]
HEADLINE: Rep. Vicente Gonzalez sounds alarm on worsening water conditions [KRIS TV, 01/15/26]
PATH TO VICTORY:
Texas’ 34th Congressional District remains a predominately Hispanic district, a demographic that Vicente Gonzalez historically overperforms with. Nearly 60% of his constituents from the previous district remain in the new district lines, and the addition of new Corpus Christi voters who previously were not in competitive districts presents a unique opportunity for Gonzalez to capture previously unmotivated voters.
Vicente Gonzalez has already won twice in political environments that were much more favorable to Republicans. Now, as nonpartisan race raters note that “there’s considerable evidence that newly-converted Latino Trump voters are moving away from the GOP,” D.C.’s pedophile-protecting and tariff-loving Eric Flores is incapable of building a winning coalition.
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