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April 17th Len’s Political Note #720 Vicente Gonzalez Texas 34
2026 General Election
Vicente Gonzalez may be the only current Member of Congress who dropped out of high school. Born and raised in Corpus Christi in southeastTexas, he was the son of a merchant seaman, Korean War veteran and a mother who was born and raised in Mexico. Vicente Gonzalez was a junior at Roman Catholic High School when he quit. Corpus Christi, with a population of about 300,000 people, was not particularly welcoming to this high school drop out.
Asked about leaving school, he says he was “misdirected.” He adds that he got back on track, which he did. In 1985, a year or two after dropping out, Vicente Gonzalez got his GED. After that, he was a committed student. He went to community college, a nearly 10,000 pupil public community college in Corpus Christi. Working while he studied, he got an Associate’s degree in banking and finance in 1990. That was not the end of it.
Embry-Riddle, an “aviation college” in Daytona Beach, Florida, had a campus at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station just south of Corpus Christi. In two years, by 1992, Vincente Gonzalez got a BA in aviation business management. That was not enough. He would become a lawyer. For that, though, he traveled 400 miles north of Corpus Christi to Fort Worth, to Texas Wesleyan’s law school.
He learned a little about politics while in law school. He interned for Corpus Christi’s congressman, Solomon Ortiz. When he graduated, he set up a law practice in McAllen, 150 miles south of Corpus Christi. What possessed him? While Corpus Christi was in Ortiz’s 27th Congressional District, it was the southern anchor of the district. Going south to McAllen meant bringing his ambition to a growing Latino business community. It had 90,000 people in 1990; has 145,000 today. 80% of the population was and is Latino. The V. Gonzalez and Associates Law Firm and Vicente Gonzalez found a home in McAllen. He had also found a wife from McAllen – teacher and, eventually, school administrator, Lorena Saenz.
In 2015, almost 20 years after he began his law practice, Vicente Gonzalez announced for Texas’s 15thCongressional District – previously represented by Nance Garner, Lloyd Bentsen, and the retiring Ruben Hinojosa. Vicente Gonzalez stressed the accomplishments of his law firm – fighting insurance companies reluctant to pay, representing individuals and businesses. Pictured with his wife, he announced: “My education and professional achievements in representing homeowners, school districts, consumers and clients in their legal and business affairs, along with my experiences as a small business owner, uniquely qualify me for the position of congressman.”
Vicente Gonzalez would become a business oriented, conservative Democrat in Congress. When he spoke about women’s issues, for instance, he spoke about protecting women in the work place. Even now, he describes his opposition to transgender women playing competitive sports as protection for women. He serves as co-chair of the Blue Dog Democrats. Unlike four other conservative Democrats, though, he refused to support the Republican sponsored SAVE act requiring proof of citizenship to vote, a particular challenge for women who would have to track their citizenship through their birth name and their married name.
Redistricting proved to be a challenge for Vicente Gonzalez. After the 2020 census, McAllen was moved to District 34. Vicente Gonzalez moved districts. District 15 would become more Republican.; District 34 would become more Democratic. Before that happened, though, neglected by the DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney, a Republican, Mayra Flores won a special election in Texas 34 in June, 2022.
In November 2022, Vicente Gonzalez had to run against an incumbent Republican. He won and defeated Mayra Flores again in 2024. But the Latino shift toward Republicans hurt. Vicente Gonzalez won in 2024 by only 5,177 votes – a 51-49 victory. His principal issues in 2024: Education (fully fund pre-kindergarten and head start, help students graduate from college debt free), Social Security and Medicare (expand social security, improve Medicare), and jobs (strengthen trade ties across the Texas-Mexico border) were enough in a year when Donald Trump was carrying Texas easily.
For 2026, Vicente Gonzalez will need help. DONATE. He will be part of the Democratic majority in the House opposing Donald Trump.
GIVE MONEY, OF COURSE. GIVE OF YOURSELF AS WELL.
This is advice from Herb, a 95 year old cousin of mine, a retired businessman who is pretty conservative. So, I will remind you. First they came for the immigrants….. This is not normal. Patrick Henry was right.
Join the demonstrations on April 19. Create your own demonstration. Teachers against the destruction of the Department of Education, for instance. In front of the Superintendent’s office. Maybe he or she will join you. Call your Democratic Senators and Congress Members. Tell them to be more visible. Call your Republican Senators and Congress Members. Remind them that Republicans used to believe in limited government. Tell them to act as if they believed in limited government, not autocracy.
California 13 Former Assemblyman Adam Gray flipped this seat with a 187 vote win. DONATE. His likely Republican opponent is Javier Lopez, mayor of the small city of Ceres. See Len’s Political Note #716
California 45 Attorney Derek Tran flipped this seat with a 653 votes win. DONATE. We do not yet know who his Republican opponent will be, though some are urging Michelle Steel to run to get her seat back. See Len’s Political Note #717
Maine 02 Incumbent Jared Golden retained his seat with a 2,706 win. DONATE. We do not yet know who his Republican opponent will be. See Len’s Political Note #719
Ohio 09 Incumbent Marcy Kaptur retained her seat with a 2,832 vote win. DONATE. We do not yet know who her Republican opponent will be, though some think her 2024 opponent Derek Merrin will run again. See Len’s Political Note #718
Texas 34 Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez retained his seat with a 5,237 win. DONATE. We do not yet know who his Republican opponent will be.
North Carolina 01 Incumbent Don Davis retained his seat with a 6,307 win. DONATE. We do not yet know who his Republican opponent will be.
Please note. I have used the margin of victory reported in Wikipedia. It is worth noting that in my piece supporting Marcy Kaptur for election in 2024, I identified the 12 most vulnerable Democrats. Two of those twelve lost.
I have also asked you to begin making regular donations for a few 2026 statewide candidates:
Georgia’s US Senator Jon Ossoff. A former Congressional aide and investigative documentary film reporter. He was elected in 2020 (2021 including the runoff) by a 50.6-49.4 margin. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #717
Arizona’s Governor Katie Hobbs. A former social worker and secretary of state. She was elected in 2022 by a 50.3 – 49.7 margin. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #712
Arizona’s Attorney General Kristin Mayes. A law professor and former Republican state Corporate Commission Member. She was elected Attorney General as a Democrat in 2022 by 280 votes, a 50.01-49.99 margin. DONATE. See Len’s. Political Note #714
Ohio’s Democratic Secretary of State candidate Bryan Hambley. An appealing Dr. Smith goes to Columbus running for an open Republican seat. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #715
Support Democrat Allison Riggs in her effort to stay on the North Carolina Supreme Court. She won the election in November. Her opponent, Republican North Carolina Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin challenged 65,000+ voters who met North Carolina requirements when they registered to vote, but new laws called for additional information from them. The North Carolina Appeals Court gave those 60,000+ voters 15 days to “cure” their ballots (that is, to provide the additional information about themselves the new laws require). The North Carolina Supreme Court stayed the Appeals Court order and has finally ruled.
The state Supreme Court ruled that approximately 60,000 votes did not have to be withdrawn; that the registration of about 5,000 military votes without photo IDs had to be “cured” for their votes to count (presumably through providing photo IDs), and about 200 votes by North Carolina voters who had never lived in the state would be withdrawn from the voter count (these would include, for instance, children of North Carolina ex-patriots who turned 21 while abroad). This ruling probably ensures Allison Riggs’ victory, but does not end the law suit.
Allison Riggs will continue her lawsuit to preserve the voting rights of members of the military and members of the ex-patriot community. You can DONATE and help Justice Riggs continue with her law suit.
