- Republicans Eric Flores and Mayra Flores, seeking the GOP nomination to face Congressman Vicente Gonzalez in Congressional District 34, traded jabs over their fundraising results, with Eric Flores’ campaign describing Mayra Flores’ campaign as “a money-making enterprise rather than an actual campaign for Congress.”
- Mayra Flores paid herself $18,500 in salary payments last quarter, in addition to payments to several of her family members
- A PAC associated with embattled Florida Congressman Cory Mills was one of the largest donors to Mayra Flores’ campaign
The two leading Republican contenders seeking to take on vulnerable Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez to represent Congressional District 34 in November traded jabs this week over their respective fundraising numbers.
Army veteran and former federal prosecutor Eric Flores reported raising over $300,000 in addition to personal loans of $250,000, with $437,079 cash on hand as of September 30. His opponent, former Congresswoman Mayra Flores, reported raising $428,946 during the same period.
However, Mayra Flores’ campaign burned through nearly all the campaign cash it raised during the quarter. According to Mayra Flores’ campaign finance report, her campaign spent $421,444 during the reporting period, leaving it with just $148,010 on hand. Mayra Flores’ high campaign spending was largely attributable to the high cost of the small-dollar direct mail and digital fundraising program her campaign implemented. Despite bringing in $428,946 last quarter, Mayra Flores’ campaign cash on hand increased by just $7,501.38 over the previous quarter.
In a press release, the Eric Flores campaign emphasized the strength of his fundraising and criticized Mayra Flores’ campaign expenditures.
“This outpouring of support from hardworking Texans proves they’re fed up with Vicente Gonzalez’s empty promises and weak leadership,” said Eric Flores in his campaign’s press release.
“Since entering this race, I’ve been hard at work building a movement of patriots who are ready for a congressman who will stand with President Trump and put South Texas first.”
The statement from Eric Flores’ campaign highlighted Mayra Flores’ two failed campaigns against Congressman Gonzalez and her decision to pay herself a salary from her campaign funds.
“Eric Flores also raised $120k more than his Republican Primary opponent, Mayra Flores, who has been running for Congress, unsuccessfully, for more than half a decade. Though Mayra Flores reported raising $428K for the quarter, she also reported spending a shocking $421K during the same period. Her Q3 burn rate of 98% left the two-time losing candidate with only $148K on hand. The Mayra Flores campaign spent the vast majority of its money on a candidate salary for Mayra Flores, payments to Mayra Flores’ family members, out-of-state airline travel, and small-dollar fundraising expenses. None of the funds seem to have been used to communicate with voters in South Texas,” read the statement.
The statement also included comments from Eric Flores’ campaign consultant, accusing the Mayra Flores campaign of being a giant grift.
“It is clear that the Mayra Flores campaign is a money-making enterprise rather than an actual campaign for Congress,” said Matt Brownfield, campaign spokesperson for the Eric Flores campaign.
“The candidate, her family, and numerous vendors are profiting, but the campaign has failed to gather the resources it needs to pose a real challenge to Vicente Gonzales. At her current burn rate, Mayra Flores would need to raise over $61 million just to match Vicente Gonzales’ current cash on hand. It’s becoming more obvious every day why Mayra Flores lost twice to Gonzales and underperformed President Trump by more than seven points last election.”
The Mayra Flores campaign pushed back in its own statement, saying she had raised “over $125,000 more than what her next closest GOP competitor raised from donors.
A review of Mayra Flores’ most recent campaign finance report on file with the Federal Election Commission substantiates the claims made about her spending by the Eric Flores campaign.
The bulk of Mayra Flores’ campaign spending appeared to be costs associated with small-dollar fundraising programs. While Mayra Flores’ campaign did raise a significant sum during the reporting period, those funds were offset by the high fundraising costs associated with the donations.
Mayra Flores also paid herself $18,500 in salary payments last quarter. This is in addition to $20,000 in salary payments Mayra Flores received from her campaign during the second quarter of this year.
While it is legal for a non-incumbent federal candidate to receive a salary from their campaign, salary payments must meet specific parameters.
According to the Federal Election Commission website, “The compensation must not exceed the lesser of 50% of the minimum annual salary paid to a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (regardless of the office sought), and the average annual income that the candidate earned during the most recent five calendar years in which the candidate earned income prior to becoming a candidate. Compensation must be calculated at the daily rate, rounded to the nearest dollar.”
Mayra Flores received a total of $70,429.35 from her campaign during calendar year 2024. Of that, $63,128.75 was classified as “salary”, “wages”, or “staff wages”, $3,500 was classified as a “bank fee”, and two payments – one for $3,500 and another for $300.60 – were classified as “travel Uber reimbursement.” Notably, the personal financial disclosure report filed by Mayra Flores with the Clerk of the House of Representatives in August does not disclose this income.
Several family members are also on Mayra Flores’ campaign payroll. During the last quarter, the Mayra Flores campaign paid her sister $3,400, her mother $1,100, her son $6,500, and her uncle $500. The website Current Revolt has also reported on Mayra Flores’ habit of paying relatives from her campaign.
Mayra Flores also reported several air travel expenditures. Her campaign reported three expenditures to Southwest Airlines on July 11, with another three expenditures to Southwest on July 14. On United airlines, she reported two expenditures on September 2, two expenditures on September 5, one expenditure on September 18, three expenditures on September 22, and two expenditures on September 29.
It is unclear from her report what the purpose of these expenditures was, how many flights were taken, or how many people were on each flight. The Eric Flores campaign, by contrast, only reported one air travel expenditure last quarter. Congressional District 34 covers a portion of the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas between Brownsville and Corpus Christi. None of the expenditures on Mayra Flores’ campaign finance report appeared to be related to voter contact methods such as texting, television, radio, or digital advertising.
One of the largest donations received by Mayra Flores last quarter was $2,500 from Restore America’s Voice PAC – a Leadership PAC sponsored by embattled Florida Congressman Cory Mills. Mayra Flores reported receiving the contribution on September 30, even though Mills was the subject of several scandals that have been widely reported in the media.
As reported by Politico, an ex-girlfriend of Mills testified at a Court hearing in early September that Mills had threatened to share sexually explicit videos of them and refused to leave her alone.
Earlier this week, a Florida Judge granted a “Final Judgment of Injunction for Protection Against Dating Violence” against Mills after the Judge determined that Mills had sent the ex-girlfriend several harassing communications, including threats to share intimate material, that caused her significant physical and mental distress.
“Having considered [Mills’] pattern of conduct, his reasoning for such conduct, his lack of reasoning for such conduct, and his direct and indirect communications on August 5, 2025, the Petitioner does have a reasonable cause to believe that she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of another act of dating violence without an injunction being entered,” wrote Judge Fred Koberlein, Jr. in his ruling granting the order against Mills.
Mills is also currently at the center of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee that he benefited financially from federal contracts while serving in Congress. The Office of Congressional Conduct released a report last year that found“substantial reason to believe that Rep. Mills may have entered into, held, or enjoyed contracts with federal agencies while serving in Congress.”
According to sources, Mills has been seen accompanying Mayra Flores to various meetings. There are also widespread rumors in political circles that Mills and Flores are romantically involved.
While Mayra Flores reported just over $148,000 cash on hand, there are also questions about what financial obligations her campaign may have that have not yet been reported. While her campaign has reported monthly payments to Targeted Victory – a digital fundraising vendor – during May, June, July, and August, it did not report any payments to Targeted Victory in September. The four payments to Targeted Victory averaged $68,596.49, indicating the possibility that Flores may be obligated to pay a significant portion of her cash on hand for expenses that have not yet been reported.
