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Vicente Gonzalez (politician)

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Vicente Gonzalez
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byRubén Hinojosa
Constituency15th district (2017–2023)
34th district (2023–present)
Personal details
Born (1967-09-04) September 4, 1967 (age 57)
Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLorena Saenz
EducationDel Mar College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (BA)
Texas Wesleyan University (JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Vicente Gonzalez Jr.[1] (/vɪˈsɛnteɪ/; born September 4, 1967) is an American lawyer and politician who serves as the United States representative for Texas's 34th congressional district since 2023 and served as the representative for Texas's 15th congressional district from 2017 to 2023.[2] He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

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Gonzalez was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1967.[3] His mother was born and raised in Mexico.[4] He went to Roman Catholic School in Corpus Christi for part of his childhood. In 11th grade, he dropped out of high school. He returned to school through a G.E.D. and enrolled at Del Mar Junior College, where he received an associate degree in banking and finance.[5][6] In 1992, Gonzalez earned his Bachelor of Science in aviation business administration from the Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University on the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. In 1996, he graduated from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (now the Texas A&M University School of Law) with a Juris Doctor.

Gonzalez during the 115th Congress

U.S. House of Representatives

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Gonzalez is considered a conservative Democrat and has broken with his party to join Republicans in supporting bills on energy and immigration.[7]

Elections

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2016

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See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 15

As a newcomer to politics, Gonzalez declared his candidacy in 2016 for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 15th congressional district after Rubén Hinojosa, the incumbent representative, announced he would not run for reelection.[8] He won the Democratic Party nomination, defeating Sonny Palacios in the runoff election.[9][10][11] He defeated Republican Tim Westley in the November general election with 57.3% of the vote to Westley's 37.7%.[12]

2018

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See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 15

Gonzalez defeated Westley again with 59.7% of the vote to Westley's 38.7%.

2020

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See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 15

In 2020, Gonzalez's seat became unexpectedly competitive. He defeated Republican Monica De La Cruz by a narrower margin than he had in his previous two victories, with 50.5% of the vote to Cruz-Hernandez's 47.6%.[13][14]

2022

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See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 34

After Texas's redistricting based on the 2020 census, Gonzalez in November 2021 announced that he would run for reelection in the 34th district. The 15th district became more Republican but the neighboring 34th became significantly more Democratic.[15] The Texas state legislature put Gonzalez's residence in the 34th. The incumbent in the 34th district, Filemon Vela Jr., had announced earlier in 2021 that he was not seeking reelection, and would endorse Gonzalez regardless of where he ran. Gonzalez won the district's March 2022 Democratic primary. The Republicans nominated Mayra Flores. After Vela resigned on March 31, 2022, Gonzalez declined to run in and instead endorsed Democrat Dan Sanchez in the consequential special election on June 14, 2022, held in the 34th's older, more competitive boundaries. Flores, however, opted to run in the special election, and won with 50.9% of the vote to Sanchez's 43.4%. As a result, Gonzalez and Flores competed against each other in the November 8 general election, in which Gonzalez defeated Flores to become the next representative for the 34th District.[16] In the same election, Gonzalez's 2020 opponent Monica De La Cruz ran in and won in the redrawn 15th District, making her the successor to Gonzalez for that district.[17]

During the campaign, a blogger who received campaign funds from Gonzalez lobbed racist attacks at Flores, calling her "Miss Frijoles" and "Miss Enchiladas". He accused her of "playing the race card" and called her a "cotton pickin' liar" for having worked in cotton fields with her immigrant parents as a child. Gonzalez said he had never read the blog and was unaware of the blogger's racist commentary, and committed not to give any more campaign money to the blog.[18]

2024

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See also: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 34

Gonzalez was re-elected in 2024. He faced no opposition in the Democratic primary. He ran against Republican nominee Mayra Flores in the November 2024 general election.[19]

Before the Republican primary election, Gonzalez' campaign targeted the weaker primary candidate, Greg Kunkle, in hopes he would become the nominee and make Gonzalez' path to re-election easier.[20]

During his 2024 campaign, Gonzalez compared Hispanic Trump supporters to "Jews for Hitler," prompting criticism from Republicans in his mostly Hispanic South Texas district.[21] Gonzalez stood by his comments saying, "I don’t understand how Mexican Americans can vote for Trump. It’s clearly a vote against self interest. And yes it would be like the Jewish community voting for Hitler before the atrocities he caused. That would never happen. And Latinos need [to] wake up and see a tyrant on the horizon."[22]

Tenure

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Gonzalez was sworn on January 3, 2017.[23]

In 2017, Gonzalez introduced the Repatriate Our Patriots Act, which proposed allowing U.S. military veterans who are not U.S. citizens and had been deported for certain crimes considered "non-violent" to return to the United States.[24]

In January 2019, Gonzalez, along with other members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, met with President Donald Trump in an attempt to end the 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown. The effort was unsuccessful.[25]

Gonzalez received the Order of the Quetzal in January 2020.[26]

In August 2021, Gonzalez was among a group of conservative Democrats, referred to as "The Unbreakable Nine," who opposed the Biden administration's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, which aimed to address infrastructure and social programs.[27][28] The group stated that they would not vote on the budget resolution until the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed and signed into law.[29]

On July 29, 2022, Gonzalez and four other Democrats joined Republicans in voting against a bill that would ban assault weapons.[30]

In September 2022, Gonzalez introduced the Safe Zones Act, which proposed that the United States Department of State establish safe zones where individuals could apply for asylum. These safe zones would accept applications from nationals of the country where the zone is located or from neighboring countries.[31][32]

The Lugar Center ranked Gonzalez among the top 50 most bipartisan members of Congress during the first session of the 118th Congress.[33]

During the 2024 United States presidential election, Gonzalez aired television advertisements in his district opposing the participation of trans women in women’s sports.[34] Following the election, Gonzalez criticized Democrats for being "lazy" and "out of touch" on abortion and advocated for the party to adopt more right-wing positions on transgender rights.[7] This led over 300 Southern Texas LGBT residents, businesses, activists and organizations to sign a letter to Gonzalez denouncing his comments.[35] In 2025, Gonzalez was one of two House Democrats (the other being Henry Cuellar) to vote in favor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which seeks to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls' sports at federally funded educational institutions.[36][37]

Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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Personal life

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Gonzalez's wife, Lorena, is a former teacher and school administrator from McAllen, Texas. His father was a merchant seaman who served in the Korean War.[44] Gonzalez lives in McAllen.[45]

Gonzalez is Roman Catholic.[46]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FamilySearch.org". FamilySearch.
  2. ^ "Our District". December 4, 2012.
  3. ^ "Guide to the New Congress" (PDF). Roll Call. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  4. ^ U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (October 6, 2017). Congressman Gonzalez Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Official Congressional Website". December 3, 2012.
  6. ^ O'Reilly, Andrew (April 19, 2016). "Texas lawyer Vicente Gonzalez hopes outsider tag takes him to Capitol Hill". Fox News Latino. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Choi, Matthew (November 26, 2024). ""Somebody needs to get fired": Vicente Gonzalez blasts Dem strategy on abortion, trans issues". Texas Tribute. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  8. ^ Politics, Edinburg (November 23, 2015). "Democrat Vicente González announces for Congress to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Hinojosa". Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. ^ "Democratic Party Runoff: Vicente Gonzalez crushes Sonny Palacios in congressional race". May 25, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Nelsen, By Aaron (May 25, 2016). "Gonzalez cruises to easy victory in the Democratic primary for open congressional seat; faces GOP opponent in the fall". Mysa. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  11. ^ LOPEZ, NAXIELY. "Gonzalez takes Dem nomination for Congressional District 15". Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Texas Election Results". New York Times. November 9, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "Texas Election Results - Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  14. ^ Livingston, Abby; Carolan, Kelsey (November 4, 2020). "Texas Republicans fighting off Democrats in battleground congressional races". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "House Dems head off retirement crisis - for now". Politico. June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  16. ^ "Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez defeats GOP candidate Mayra Flores in TX". NBC News. November 9, 2022.
  17. ^ Neukam, Matthew Choi and Stephen (November 9, 2022). "Monica De La Cruz becomes first Republican to win in 15th Congressional District in South Texas". The Texas Tribune.
  18. ^ "Blogger with ties to Vicente Gonzalez lobs racist attack at his congressional opponent Mayra Flores".
  19. ^ Garcia, By Berenice (November 6, 2024). "Vicente Gonzalez defeats Mayra Flores to hold onto South Texas congressional district". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Choi, Matthew (February 27, 2024). "U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez wants GOP voters to believe that Mayra Flores is the weaker primary candidate". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  21. ^ Choi, Matthew (March 14, 2024). "Vicente Gonzalez compares Latino Trump supporters to "Jews for Hitler"". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  22. ^ Choi, Matthew (March 14, 2024). "Vicente Gonzalez compares Latino Trump supporters to "Jews for Hitler"".
  23. ^ Lopez, Naxiely (January 3, 2017). "Newcomer Vicente Gonzalez to be sworn into congress: Pressing issues await the new District 15 representative". The Monitor.
  24. ^ "H.R.3429 - Repatriate Our Patriots Act". Congress.gov.
  25. ^ Benning, Tom (January 16, 2019). "Why this Texas Democrat met with Trump amid shutdown fight over border wall". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  26. ^ Congressman Vicente Gonzalez receives Guatemala's highest honor by Ronnie Marley, CBS4 Valley Central, 20 January 2020
  27. ^ "Already, Cracks Emerge in Rep. Josh Gottheimer's "Unbreakable Nine"". August 25, 2021.
  28. ^ Bouie, Jamelle (August 24, 2021). "Opinion | the 9 Democrats Making Nancy Pelosi's Life Harder Are Making a Big Mistake". The New York Times.
  29. ^ Shabad, Rebecca; Caldwell, Leigh Ann (August 13, 2021). "Moderate House Dems say they won't support budget vote until infrastructure bill passes". NBC News.
  30. ^ Lee, Ella (July 30, 2022). "Who are the 7 House members who broke with their party in voting on assault weapons ban?". USA Today. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  31. ^ "H.R.8823 - Safe Zones Act of 2022". Congress.gov.
  32. ^ "H.R.2946 - Safe Zones Act of 2023". Congress.gov.
  33. ^ "The Lugar Center - McCourt School of Bipartisan Index". The Lugar Center.
  34. ^ "Why Moulton Won't Back Transgender Pill". Politico.
  35. ^ "Texans only Democrats in Congress to vote for bill restricting trans athletes". Texas Tribute. January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  36. ^ "Roll Call 12 Roll Call 12, Bill Number: H. R. 28, 119th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. January 14, 2025. Archived from the original on January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  37. ^ Foran, Clare; Talbot, Haley (January 14, 2025). "GOP-led House votes to ban transgender athletes from women's sports". CNN. Archived from the original on January 15, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  38. ^ Garcia, Berenice (January 11, 2017). "Gonzalez appointed to powerful House committee: Freshman congressman secures assignment to House Financial Services Committee". The Monitor. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  39. ^ "Members". Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  40. ^ "Members". Blue Dog Coalition. September 6, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  41. ^ "Leadership | New Democrat Coalition". newdemocratcoalition.house.gov. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  42. ^ "Problem Solvers Caucus Announces Membership and Executive Council for the 118th Congress". March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  43. ^ "Featured Members". Problem Solvers Caucus. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  44. ^ Taylor, Steve (November 22, 2015). "Gonzalez explains why he is running for Congressional District 15". Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  45. ^ Livingston, Abby (May 4, 2020). "U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez suffers broken back, ordered to bed rest at least four weeks". Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  46. ^ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). Pew Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vicente Gonzalez.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 15th congressional district
2017–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 34th congressional district
2023–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Blue Dog Coalition for Communications
2025–present
Served alongside: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Administration), Lou Correa (Policy) 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
170th 		Succeeded by
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