A South Texas Democrat Congressman in one of the nation’s most hotly contested congressional races belittled his Republican opponent’s military service in a Facebook comment posted earlier this week.
Congressman Vicente Gonzalez faces Republican attorney and Army veteran Eric Flores in the race for Congressional District 34, which stretches from Corpus Christi to Brownsville. In response to a recent Facebook post from Gonzalez that attacked Flores, a commenter took to Flores’ defense and referenced Flores’ military service.
Flores “has fought and bled for our country,” the commenter remarked.
This elicited a reply from Gonzalez that mocked Flores’ military service. “Really? Where did he fight and bleed?”, replied Gonzalez, who has never served in the military.
While Flores was not wounded during his military service, he did serve in the Texas Army National Guard for over ten years. Flores received multiple honors for his service, including two Meritorious Service Medals and the Order of Saint Maurice.
Flores commanded soldiers during Operation Guardian Support, an initiative during the first Trump administration that deployed over 2,000 National Guard personnel to the southern border to support border security.
According to a report published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Operation Guardian Support led to the arrest of 23,034 deportable illegal aliens, 6,168 turnbacks, and the seizure of more than 35,700 pounds of illegal drugs during Fiscal Year 2018.
Gonzalez was a vocal opponent of Operation Guardian Support, describing it as a “waste of taxpayer money” and “the wrong approach and unwarranted” in an April 3, 2018, press release.
More recently, Gonzalez has continued to voice his opposition to the Trump administration’s border security measures.
In a January 22, 2026, statement, Gonzalez accused ICE of engaging in “shameful operations in South Texas and communities around the country” and described the Trump administration’s immigration policies as “reckless.”
On February 3, 2026, Gonzalez voted against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“We must continue to do all we can to hold this Administration accountable for its rogue immigration operations in South Texas and across the country,” said Gonzalez about his vote.
On the campaign trail, Flores has contrasted his personal experience defending the border with Gonzalez’s support for open-border policies.
In an interview with Fox News Digital last month, Flores said, “Vicente Gonzalez built his record on policies that opened the border and tied the hands of the very federal agents sworn to protect us. I’ve worked alongside Border Patrol and law enforcement on the front lines, both as a soldier and as a federal prosecutor. I will always stand with them.”
