DALLAS —
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, some Democrats are optimistic that President Donald Trump’s historic gains with Latino voters in 2024 were an anomaly. But Eric Flores, who is running for Congress in South Texas, believes they are here to stay.
In an interview with the Washington Reporter at the first-ever Republican National Committee (RNC) midterm convention, Flores said that the idea that Latinos are flocking to Democrats is “not the truth at all.”
It comes down, he said, to “just one simple question: what have the Democrats done, especially for South Texas? Let’s look at my opponent, for example” he said, talking about Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D., Texas), who is campaigning for reelection as one of the few remaining moderate Blue Dog Democrats in Congress. “Not one piece of legislation other than renaming a post office. He says he’s brought all these millions of dollars. Where are they? Half of the folks down there, they’re still waiting for their check. He loves those big photo ops. It rains just ten minutes, and you have 17 inches of water in the colonias. The Latino voters who say that they’re running away from Trump? They’re actually running away from the Democratic Party because all they have are lies, false promises, and a track record of delivering no results for South Texas.”
During his interview with the Reporter, Flores went directly after Gonzalez’s self-portrayal, calling his opponent a “glorified piece of furniture.” Flores added that Gonzalez’s portrayal of himself as a moderate is “a joke.”
“He’s just a straight liar when he says he’s a moderate Democrat, when 80 to 85 percent of the time he’s voting like with somebody like AOC or Ilhan Omar,” Flores, a former prosecutor, said. “He’s been there 10 years…Thank God he’s incompetent, because I can’t imagine if he actually did pass something. He’s been there ten years and has not passed a single bill. He’s been supporting agendas like the trans and the DEI, supporting taxpayer-funded sex changes for minors. That’s what I’m hearing on the trail right now. They want somebody to go to Washington, D.C. and have a strong voice for Texas’s 34th District, secure our borders, focusing on the prices that are going on right now that people are feeling their pockets. That’s what I’m hearing throughout Texas’s 34th District.”
For Flores, the contrast between him and his Democratic opponent is clear: “It’s real simple. In me, you get a true public servant who has not only talked about it but who has actually lived it in uniform,” he told the Reporter. “I’ve been a city attorney, a municipal judge, and a federal prosecutor. I know the problems because I’ve lived them. I’m not getting them from a political brief like my opponent.”
In contrast, he said, “when the border was under siege [under President Joe Biden], he said that they were on the right track. What a joke! What you get with Vicente Gonzalez is a glorified piece of furniture in Congress. You get somebody who is straight up incompetent when it comes to knowing his constituents. He says ‘Vicente con la gente.’ That’s absolutely the worst thing he could say; he’s disconnected. He’s a no-show in Congress. The only person who’s benefitted from him being Congress is himself. Look at his pocketbook; his net worth is now almost $10 million. And let me just say this: banking with China. That’s not the South Texas way.”
“Let me tell you what South Texas is about,” Flores said. “It’s about faith, family, freedom, and most importantly, it’s about a leader who can deliver results. I’ve done that for the past 16 years, serving in some sort of governmental capacity. I’m willing to do it in Congress, and we’re going to do it damn well.”
While Democrats are optimistic that Gonzalez will win again in November, Flores said the case for Republicans in South Texas is simple: “when you tell [voters] exactly what this administration has done, that’s a good start,” he said. “Let’s look at the Working Family Tax Cuts bill itself. Let’s look at my district specifically, where a vast majority of them do rely on tips, do rely on that overtime pay. Well, under that legislation, there’s no tax on tips. There’s no tax on overtime. For seniors, there’s no tax on their Social Security.”
Gonzalez, on the other hand, “voted for the largest tax hike since World War II,” Flores noted. “That’s how we get folks motivated: by informing them and not listening to the fake news, to the mainstream media putting out claims that this administration has not done well; that’s an absolute lie. Just like my opponent is doing right now, just lying; he’s saying that he’s a moderate Democrat or the right kind of Democrat. Newsflash: He’s the wrong type of Democrat, and he’s the wrong type of congressman for South Texas.”
One of the reasons that Flores views Gonzalez as the “wrong type of Democrat” for South Texas is the incumbent’s record on border security. Flores said that his record of public service “started in the uniform, carrying Old Glory on my shoulder. I led soldiers on Operation Guardian Support. I then became a federal prosecutor in what I call the tip of the spear district for the United States, which is the Southern District of Texas.”
“There, alongside the great and brave men and women holding that badge and holding the line, we dismantled one of the largest human smuggling organizations Texas has ever seen, and locked up one of Texas’s top 10 most wanted child predators,” he said, noting how difficult that job was under Biden. “It was a great honor to serve with those men and women. Unfortunately, we had an administration with Sleepy Joe Biden that presided over a border crisis. My opponent at that time when it was a border crisis said that they were on the right track; that was an absolutely atrocious time to be prosecuting. But we did our job; we held the line.”
“When I was prosecuting in that era under Sleepy Joe Biden and the no-show border czar, it was a straight up humanitarian crisis,” Flores explained. “I worked the numbers the other day: 4,200 illegal aliens were allowed into this country under what I call the Conduit of Chaos. These are policies like Title 42 and catch and release. It was a legitimate humanitarian crisis. How do I know that? I didn’t get that from Fox News, from ABC, or from any other outlet. I lived it. On day one of President Trump, we saw that all that it took was a leader with courage and with backbone to enforce the laws that were in place and allow border patrol agents and prosecutors to do their job, and that’s why on Day One we saw several months later we saw a 50 year all time low, and now not even 15 months later, not a single illegal alien has been released to this country.”
Below is a transcript of our interview with Eric Flores, lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
Eric, you just gave a speech at the Republican National Convention’s first ever midterm edition here in Texas. We’re eight hours away from the district that you’re running in. Tell me why it was important for you to come to this.
Eric Flores:
It’s important. I was honored to be not only here with the president, but also to speak on the stage alongside so many great leaders in President Trump’s cabinet. It’s real simple. The goal is to motivate and to get everybody excited come this November 3rd. Folks like James Talafreako are saying that there is a blue wave coming. But news flash, feel the energy here in this arena. It’s a packed house. There’s not a blue wave. There’s a red tidal wave coming. That’s why it was so important. Let’s motivate the base and get everybody out on November 3rd.
Washington Reporter:
What are the top issues that you hear from voters when you’re running against Vicente Gonzalez, who’s one of the last purported Blue Dog Democrats in Congress?
Eric Flores:
I absolutely think it’s a joke; he’s just a straight liar when he says he’s a moderate Democrat, when 80 to 85 percent of the time he’s voting like with somebody like AOC or Ilhan Omar. He’s been there 10 years; I like to call him a glorified piece of furniture. Thank God he’s incompetent, because I can’t imagine if he actually did pass something. He’s been there ten years and has not passed a single bill. He’s been supporting agendas like the trans and the DEI, supporting taxpayer-funded sex changes for minors. That’s what I’m hearing on the trail right now. They want somebody to go to Washington, D.C. and have a strong voice for Texas’s 34th District, secure our borders, focusing on the prices that are going on right now that people are feeling their pockets. That’s what I’m hearing throughout Texas’s 34th District.
Washington Reporter:
For you, public service and law and order are not just campaign slogans. Can you recount how you helped put one of the most wanted criminals in Texas behind bars?
Eric Flores:
Absolutely. For me, when it comes to public service in D.C. or any elected office, it started in the uniform, carrying Old Glory on my shoulder. I led soldiers on Operation Guardian Support. I then became a federal prosecutor in what I call the tip of the spear district for the United States, which is the Southern District of Texas. There, alongside the great and brave men and women holding that badge and holding the line, we dismantled one of the largest human smuggling organizations Texas has ever seen, and locked up one of Texas’s top 10 most wanted child predators. It was a great honor to serve with those men and women. Unfortunately, we had an administration with Sleepy Joe Biden that presided over a border crisis. My opponent at that time when it was a border crisis said that they were on the right track; that was an absolutely atrocious time to be prosecuting. But we did our job; we held the line.
Washington Reporter:
There’s a sense from some Democrats and from some in the media that Latino voters are going back to voting for Democrats; how have you seen this playing out on the trail in Texas’s 34th District?
Eric Flores:
That’s not the truth at all, because it’s just one simple question: what have the Democrats done, especially for South Texas? Let’s look at my opponent, for example. Not one piece of legislation other than renaming a post office. He says he’s brought all these millions of dollars. Where are they? Half of the folks down there, they’re still waiting for their check. He loves those big photo ops. It rains just ten minutes, and you have 17 inches of water in the colonias. The Latino voters who say that they’re running away from Trump? They’re actually running away from the Democratic Party because all they have are lies, false promises, and a track record of delivering no results for South Texas.
Washington Reporter:
Can you give me a sense of what the border looked like when Biden was president compared to now, and how it’s changed?
Eric Flores:
When I was prosecuting in that era under Sleepy Joe Biden and the no-show border czar, it was a straight up humanitarian crisis. I worked the numbers the other day: 4,200 illegal aliens were allowed into this country under what I call the Conduit of Chaos. These are policies like Title 42 and catch and release. It was a legitimate humanitarian crisis. How do I know that? I didn’t get that from Fox News, from ABC, or from any other outlet. I lived it. On day one of President Trump, we saw that all that it took was a leader with courage and with backbone to enforce the laws that were in place and allow border patrol agents and prosecutors to do their job, and that’s why on Day One we saw several months later we saw a 50 year all time low, and now not even 15 months later, not a single illegal alien has been released to this country.
Washington Reporter:
How do you make sure that Republicans see those successes and make sure that they vote? How do you keep people excited to make sure they vote in November?
Eric Flores:
When you tell them exactly what this administration has done, that’s a good start. Let’s look at the Working Family Tax Cuts bill itself. Let’s look at my district specifically, where a vast majority of them do rely on tips, do rely on that overtime pay. Well, under that legislation, there’s no tax on tips. There’s no tax on overtime. For seniors, there’s no tax on their Social Security. My opponent voted for the largest tax hike since World War II. That’s how we get folks motivated: by informing them and not listening to the fake news, to the mainstream media putting out claims that this administration has not done well; that’s an absolute lie. Just like my opponent is doing right now, just lying; he’s saying that he’s a moderate Democrat or the right kind of Democrat. Newsflash: He’s the wrong type of Democrat, and he’s the wrong type of congressman for South Texas.
Washington Reporter:
We have a little under two months between now and the election. What is the most important thing for voters in Texas’s 34th District to know about Eric Flores, and the most important thing for them to know about Vicente Gonzalez?
Eric Flores:
It’s real simple. In me, you get a true public servant who has not only talked about it but who has actually lived it in uniform. I’ve been a city attorney, a municipal judge, and a federal prosecutor. I know the problems because I’ve lived them. I’m not getting them from a political brief like my opponent. When the border was under siege, he said that they were on the right track. What a joke! What you get with Vicente Gonzalez is a glorified piece of furniture in Congress. You get somebody who is straight up incompetent when it comes to knowing his constituents. He says ‘Vicente con la gente.’ That’s absolutely the worst thing he could say; he’s disconnected. He’s a no-show in Congress. The only person who’s benefitted from him being Congress is himself. Look at his pocketbook; his net worth is now almost $10 million. And let me just say this: banking with China. That’s not the South Texas way. Let me tell you what South Texas is about. It’s about faith, family, freedom, and most importantly, it’s about a leader who can deliver results. I’ve done that for the past 16 years, serving in some sort of governmental capacity. I’m willing to do it in Congress, and we’re going to do it damn well.
Washington Reporter:
These these are important points that you’ve made, but the most important question I think I have for you: tell me about your hair product.
Eric Flores:
I naturally have really straight hair. I will say I’m a big fan of H-E-B products. I use just a very simple gel that they have there. It’s worked great.
Washington Reporter:
So you’re saying you did not wake up like this.
Eric Flores:
I did not wake up like this. It does take a little bit of effort.
Washington Reporter:
Eric, thank you for that important insight.
