Vicente Gonzalez
Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat who has represented Texas's 34th congressional district since 2023 after representing the 15th district from 2017 to 2023, seeks re-election in 2026 against Republican Eric Flores.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Born
- September 4, 1967
- Birthplace
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Education
- Del Mar College (associate degree in banking and finance, 1990)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Bachelor of Science in aviation business administration, 1992)
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (Juris Doctor, 1996)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Vicente Gonzalez was born on September 4, 1967, in Corpus Christi, Texas. His father was a merchant seaman who served in the Korean War, and his mother was born and raised in Mexico.
He attended Roman Catholic School in Corpus Christi for part of his childhood, left high school in his junior year and earned a high school equivalency certificate in 1985.
Gonzalez then completed an associate degree in banking and finance at Del Mar College in 1990 and a Bachelor of Science in aviation business administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1992.
While studying law he interned for Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz, and after receiving a Juris Doctor from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 1996 he founded the law practice V. Gonzalez & Associates the following year.
Career
Vicente Gonzalez entered politics in 2016, when incumbent Rubén Hinojosa retired from Texas's 15th congressional district. He won the Democratic nomination in a runoff against Sonny Palacios and took the general election with 57.3% of the vote against Republican Tim Westley.
Gonzalez was re-elected in 2018 and, by a narrower margin, in 2020 against Republican Monica De La Cruz. After the redistricting that followed the 2020 census, he ran in the redrawn 34th district, defeating Republican Mayra Flores in 2022 and again in a 2024 rematch.
In the House, Gonzalez serves as co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition and chair of the Congressional Oil & Gas Caucus, and in the 119th Congress he sits on the Committee on Financial Services. He has voted with Republicans on several measures, including the Laken Riley Act and, in 2025, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
2026 race
Vicente Gonzalez is seeking re-election in Texas's 34th congressional district, which stretches along the Gulf Coast from Brownsville to most of Corpus Christi and covers all of Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy and Kleberg counties and most of Nueces County.
He won the seat in 2024 with 51.3% of the vote, and he returns as the Democratic nominee after a primary against public policy analyst Etienne Rosas. His Republican opponent, Eric Flores, won his party's primary with 56.7% of the vote, ahead of former U.S. representative Mayra Flores with 23.7%.
The general election takes place on November 3, 2026.