Report: Democrat Vicente Gonzalez ‘Strongly Considering’ Switching Congressional Districts

Vulnerable Texas Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez is “strongly considering” leaving his competitive seat for a safer seat favoring Democrats, according to a report from Politico.

The three-term incumbent said that he would most likely be running in Texas’s 34th Congressional District, which is being vacated by the retiring Rep. Filemón Vela (D-TX).

Politico reported that his decision comes just days after Texas released the state’s new congressional map proposal, which would inevitably move Gonzalez’s seat from a safe Democrat to a seat Trump would have won by three points.

“If the Texas congressional maps that have been proposed are adopted, a large portion of my constituency will be in District 34,” Gonzalez told Politico in a statement.

“I have received many calls from across South Texas encouraging me to run in this district. If, in fact, these are the final maps, I will very seriously consider running in 34 and continuing my representation of South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley,” he added.

Politico added:

Gonzalez, who was first elected in 2016, said that he has over $2 million in his campaign account to use in a primary for the Vela’s seat. He also said if he changed districts he would “make certain that we have another candidate” that could keep his 15th District in Democratic hands.

Even before the GOP-controlled redistricting began, Gonzalez was likely to have a tough reelection. His current district, which includes McAllen and stretches north toward San Antonio, took a hard swing to the right last year.

Hillary Clinton won the seat by 17 points in 2016; but Joe Biden won it by just 2 points four years later. Meanwhile, Gonzalez saw his victory margin shrink to 3 points in 2020 against a opponent who spent less than $300,000. That candidate, Monica De La Cruz-Hernandez, is running again this cycle

The House Republican campaign arm has made the Democrat one of their top targets to unseat in the midterms, releasing numerous campaign ads against him in his McAllen-based district, hoping to compare his views to the radical agenda the Democrats are trying to push through Congress such as the “bipartisan” infrastructure bill and the radical $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.

Vela’s seat, which Gonzalez might try to run for, would turn into a safe Democrat seat that would have backed Biden by roughly 16 points in last year’s election if the proposed Texas map passes. However, if he decides to swing the district he’s running in, Gonzalez would be facing other primary challenges.

“I will endorse Congressman Gonzalez no matter which district he runs in,” Vela said to Politico.

Breitbart News reported in June on newspaper reports and court documents from the early 2000s that resurfaced, which showed Gonzalez allegedly made “demeaning statements” about the local police that reportedly started the brawl. A broader look at the reports indicated that the congressman maligned police officers, which before relevant a few months ago when the national leftist Democrat pushed to defund police.

Gonzalez voted in March to “defund the police.” by voting to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, with House Democrats, on an almost party-line vote of 220-212. Republicans described the bill as a plan to “defunding the police.”

Follow Jacob Bliss on Twitter @jacobmbliss.