South Texas has elected an idiosyncratic Democrat to the US House who supports El Salvador’s authoritarian leader and has voted against trans rights.
https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2026/02/vicente-gonzalez.html
4/x
#Texas #Democrats #Elections #Politics #US #USA #USPol #USPolitics #House #USHouse
Vicente Gonzalez was first elected to the US House in 2016.
Gonzalez lives in the Rio Grande Valley, and he has represented the Texas 34th Congressional District since 2023.
https://gonzalez.house.gov/about
5/x
In 2024, Gonzalez was reelected to the US House by 2.6%.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/11/05/us/elections/results-texas-us-house-34.html
6/x
According to Roll Call, Gonzalez was one of 13 House Democrats elected in 2024 in districts that voted for Trump.
https://rollcall.com/2025/01/22/democrats-house-trump-districts-midterm-elections/
7/x
The Cook Political Report considers the House Race in TX-34 to be a tossup in 2026.
https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings
8/x
Texas will hold its primary elections on Tuesday, March 3.
So next week, Texas Democrats will decide whether to choose Gonzalez to run as their party’s nominee in November’s general election.
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/2026-state-primary-election-dates
10/x
I disagree with some of Gonzalez’s positions, but I intend to consider his record fairly.
I will also discuss how Gonzalez has voted on key issues in Congress, from 2021 to the present.
11/x
Section: Frontline Democrats
12/x
Political pundits and news organizations on the center left often heap fawning praise on moderate Democrats in challenging frontline districts.
Often, this praise fails to include discussions about the votes in Congress these moderate Democrats have taken, which Democratic voters might disagree with.
13/x
This article is primarily about Vicente Gonzalez, but I will also discuss problematic votes made by Henry Cuellar, Don Davis, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and Jared Golden.
14/x
According to Roll Call, all five of these Democrats were elected in districts in 2024 that voted for Trump.
https://rollcall.com/2025/01/22/democrats-house-trump-districts-midterm-elections/
15/x
All of these Democratic incumbents are running for reelection to the US House, with the exception of Jared Golden, according to the Cook Political Report.
https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings
16/x
This article focuses on Gonzalez because:
1) His primary is only a week away.
2) He is a genuinely interesting politician.
3) It’s easier to focus on how one person voted on many important issues, than to focus on how several people voted on many important issues.
17/x
I believe it’s important to celebrate Democrats who can win elections in challenging districts.
But I also believe it’s important to carefully examine the records of members of Congress.
In this thread, I hope to do both.
18/x
This ongoing thread can be read as an article on my blog, Meticulous Musings.
https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2026/02/vicente-gonzalez.html
19/x
#Politics #USPol #US #USA #AmericanPolitics #Texas #Democrats #Primary #Elections
Section: Supports Bukele
20/x
In an interview with Politico, Vicente Gonzalez praised Nayib Bukele, the authoritarian leader of El Salvador.
“I think it’s undeniable what he’s done has been spectacular, in terms of bringing security to over 98% of the population that lived in turmoil for over a generation,” Gonzalez told Politico.
“He clean[ed] up the most dangerous country in the world and turn[ed] it into the safest in the hemisphere.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/29/bukele-trump-el-salvador-vicente-gonzalez-00363966
21/x
Human Rights Watch has criticized the methods used by Bukele in his crackdown on gang violence.
https://www.hrw.org/americas/el-salvador
22/x
Since taking office, the administration of President Nayib Bukele has launched an assault on democratic institutions, including by summarily replacing the attorney general and all the judges in the Supreme Court’s constitutional chamber. In March 2022, pro-Bukele lawmakers adopted a state of emergency, suspending a range of constitutional rights in response to a peak in gang violence. Security forces arrested tens of thousands of people, including hundreds of children, and committed widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture and other ill-treatment of detainees. Dozens have died in prison. At the same time, authorities report a significant decrease in gang violence, including a drop in homicides. Severe restrictions on access to abortion, harassment and arbitrary criminal proceedings against journalists and civil society organizations, and poor accountability for human rights violations remain serious concerns.
“In March 2022, pro-Bukele lawmakers adopted a state of emergency, suspending a range of consitutional rights in response to a peak in gang violence,” HRW wrote on its profile on the state of human rights in El Salvador.
“Security forces arrested tens of thousands of people, including hundreds of children, and committed widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture and other ill-treatment of detainees.”
23/x
The Guardian reported Vicente Gonzalez attended Bukele’s second inauguration in June 2024.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/27/vicente-gonzalez-el-salvador-nayib-bukele
24/x
Gonzalez has co-chaired the El Salvador Caucus in the US House since July 2024, when it was created by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz.
https://luna.house.gov/elsalvador
25/x
In his remarks announcing the creation of the El Salvador Caucus, Gaetz said its purpose will be, “to vindicate the choices that President Bukele has made.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__zhSUNvI0s
26/x
"El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has converted El Salvador from the murder capital of the world, into a reliable and stable partner for peace and security for the United States of America,” Gaetz said during his remarks on the House floor.
"The El Salvador Caucus will exist to nurture and advance the US-El Salvador relationship, to encourage strong borders, strong culture, and the strong reforms President Bukele has put into effect.”
27/x
I disapprove of Bukele’s human rights abuses and find it rather strange that Gonzalez, a Democratic Congressman, supports the authoritarian leader.
28/x
This ongoing thread can be read as an article on my blog, Meticulous Musings.
https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2026/02/vicente-gonzalez.html
29/x
Section: Votes against Trans Rights
30/x
Vicente Gonzalez was one of only three House Democrats who voted in favor of a bill that would ban gender-affirming surgeries, hormone replacement therapy, and puberty-blocking medications, for transgender youth, nationwide.
31/x
Late last year, Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Don Davis (NC-1) joined 213 Republicans to vote in favor of the legislation, which was introduced by Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3492/text
32/x
The Advocate wrote a good article about Greene’s bill, which includes quotes from a pediatrics professor, officials from the Human Rights Campaign and Trevor Project, and the parent of a transgender teenager.
(Although the headline writer, for the headline that appears after you click the link, could have done a better job making clear that only three Democrats voted for the bill)
https://www.advocate.com/politics/mtg-trans-youth-care-ban
33/x
207 Democrats and four Republicans voted against the bill.
Three Democrats and three Republicans did not vote on the measure.
34/x
The House approved the bill, 216 to 211, on Dec. 17, 2025.
https://www.congress.gov/votes/house/119-1/351
35/x
The Senate has not voted on the bill.
congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3492/all-actions
36/x
That wasn’t the only time Gonzalez has voted against trans rights.
37/x
Early last year, Gonzalez and Cuellar voted in favor of a bill that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in female school athletic programs, nationwide.
38/x
The bill would implement this policy by declaring it to be a violation of Title IX for a school that receives federal funding, which includes both K-12 and colleges and universities, to allow a transgender woman or girl to participate in athletic programs designated for women or girls.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/28
39/x
Gonzalez and Cuellar, the only Democrats who voted for the bill, joined 216 Republicans to advance the legislation.
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202512
40/x
206 Democrats voted against the bill.
Six Democrats and three Republicans did not vote on the legislation.
One Democrat, Don Davis, voted Present.
41/x
The House passed the bill, 218 to 206, on Jan. 14, 2025.
The Senate has not voted on the bill.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/28/all-actions
42/x
This table compares how Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, Don Davis, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and Jared Golden voted on proposed federal transgender sports bans in 2023 and 2025.
43/x
About two years earlier, on April 20, 2023, the House considered a bill that would have done the same thing.
Gonzalez did not vote on that bill.
So Gonzalez went from not voting on a federal transgender sports ban, in April 2023, to voting in favor of one, in Jan. 2025.
44/x
Cuellar voted against a federal transgender sports ban in 2023, but voted in favor of one in 2025.
45/x
Don Davis did not vote on the sports ban in 2023, and he voted Present in 2025.
46/x
I discussed the Kansas Transgender Sports Ban in an editorial I wrote in 2024.
https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2024/09/kansas-republicans-approve-trans-sports.html
47/x
John Oliver discussed the Republican obsession with transgender athletes during a great segment on his program LastWeekTonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flSS1tjoxf0
48/x
During an interview with the Texas Tribune in Nov. 2024, Gonzalez said his ability to understand the social conservatism of his district, and knowing when to break from the Democratic party, helped him keep his seat in Congress.
49/x
"I told the entire caucus, don’t ever try to whip me again, because I know my district better than anybody in this room,” Gonzalez said.
"Having me 97% of the time is better than having my opponent 100% of the time. We need to give that leeway, especially to frontline members. Nobody knows our districts better than us.”
50/x
I dislike that Gonzalez has voted against trans rights in Congress.
Now that we’ve discussed the troubling parts of Gonzalez’s record, let’s examine the times he has voted the right way on important issues, including the times he’s voted in favor of LGBT rights, which we will explore next.
51/x
You can read this ongoing thread as an article on my blog, Meticulous Musings.
https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2026/02/vicente-gonzalez.html
52/x
Section: Votes in favor of LGBT Rights
53/x
Gonzalez voted in favor of the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5
54/x
#LGBT #Gay #Trans #Bisexual #Lesbian #Nonbinary #Politics #US #USPol
221 Democrats, including Gonzalez, and three Republicans, voted in favor of the bill.
206 Republicans voted against the legislation.
2 Republicans did not vote on the bill.
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202139
55/x
The House passed the bill, 224 to 206, on February 25, 2021.
The bill did not receive a vote in the Senate.
56/x
This table shows how Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, and Jared Golden voted on key issues in 2021 and 2022.
During this time, Democrats held majorities in the US House and US Senate under President Joe Biden.
57/x
Gonzalez also voted in favor of a bill that protects same-sex marriage.
58/x
Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022.
Currently, the right to same sex marriage is protected nationwide under the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556
59/x
#GayMarriage #Marriage #Rights #LGBT #Queer #US #USA #Politics #GayRights #Lesbian #Bisexual
Liberals feared the US Supreme Court might overturn its decisions protecting gay marriage after the court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Respect for Marriage Act was passed due to these concerns.
60/x
The Respect for Marriage Act requires states to recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states, and requires the federal government to recognize the legitimacy of same-sex marriages conducted by states that allow them.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8404
61/x
219 Democrats, including Gonzalez, and 39 Republicans, showed their support for same-sex marriage, by voting for the Respect for Marriage Act.
169 Republicans voted against the bill.
Four Republicans did not vote on the legislation, and one Republican voted Present.
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022513
62/x
The House passed the bill, 258 to 169, on Dec. 8, 2022.
After both the House and Senate approved the bill, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law.
63/x
Jason Beets
