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THE 34th District ELECTION RACE in Texas is at its most heated and controversial stage after NBC News reported that Democratic Representative Vicente Gonzalez hired a blogger who has systematically harassed and attacked his Republican opponent Mayra Flores.
According to NBC, Gonzalez paid June $1,200 to The McHale Report blog, supposedly for advertising spots. However, to date, no ads in favor of the Democratic representative have been published on the platform, and many racist and sexual harassment attacks against Mayra Flores have.
The revelation generated a political scandal around Vicente Gonzalez, who has received numerous criticisms not only from the conservative world but also from his party.
As a result, this Wednesday, the Democrat stated on Twitter offering his version of events and attacked Flores without providing a public apology.
“We advertise on many platforms and have no control over their editorial content,” reads Vicente Gonzalez’s statement. “We do not pay for political attacks and we will not be advertising on this platform again.”
After that paragraph, the Democrat’s statement takes a 180-degree turn to attack Mayra Flores for allegedly not criticizing former President Donald Trump.
“We condemn the offensive remarks on the platform, just as we have condemned Donald Trump’s racist rants calling Mexicans rapists and murderers. If only Rep. Flores had the courage to do the same.”
Networks turn against Vicente Gonzalez
The Democrat’s statement, far from calming the waters, fueled the fire of the electoral race, causing hundreds of criticisms against him and questioning his version of the story.
One of the first to respond to the comment was Representative Mayra Flores. She recently made history by winning a special election in the Rio Grande Valley, an area historically dominated by the Democratic Party.
“This doesn’t sound like an apology to me,” Flores said on Twitter, quoting Gonzalez’s statement. “Also, the racist pervert you hired to target me with filth has ZERO space on his ‘blog’ for ads, so we know this is a lie.”
“If you were a real man, you would apologize in person and resign. Pero eres poco hombre,” Flores added.
Following that response, hundreds of Twitter users questioned Gonzalez’s statement.
“I work in digital marketing. That blog you’re referencing doesn’t have any ads,” wrote Emily Butler, who defines herself as a “social media guru.” “Your campaign also hired him directly, not through your ad agency. You paid him to harass @MayraFlores2022, not for any ‘advertising.'”
Giancarlo Sopo, Republican media strategist, also questioned the veracity of Gonzalez’s statement, “Three ways you know this is a lie: 1) González works with an ad agency. But he hired the creepy blogger directly. 2) There is space in that blog for “advertisement” of any kind. 3) The blogger has worked with local Democrats for years. He knew his content — and hired him.”
The controversy over the blogger paid by Vicente Gonzalez even transcended the American borders, reaching Hispanic conservative referents, such as the case of Argentine political scientist Agustin Laje, a renowned lecturer in the conservative world who defended Flores.
“The Democratic congressman who hired a racist pervert to attack Mayra Flores and sexually degrade her refuses to apologize to her,” said Laje. “His explanation is a lie. There is no room for ‘advertising’ on the blog he refers to. Resign, you scoundrel!”
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
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