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Hinojosa Brings Governor Campaign to Rio Grande City, Banks on Valley Turnout to Beat Abbott
Greg Abbott has never faced a challenge quite like Gina Hinojosa. First, she's Mexican-American. Second, she's a woman. And even though he easily won against Wendy Davis, this candidate has something Davis didn't: she's puro 956. The Brownsville native and five-term state representative stopped by Caro's Restaurant in Rio Grande City on Monday to talk with local voters about her campaign. The event drew family and local Democratic officials who turned out to support her candi

Maria Salinas
Jan 185 min read


Mayra Flores Learns a Lesson in Trumpism
Donald Trump made his choice in Texas's 34th Congressional District on December 18, and the fallout has been delicious. The former president endorsed Eric Flores, leaving his 2022 congressional candidate, Mayra Flores (who shares the surname but not the bloodline), fuming on the sidelines. Mayra Flores wasted no time posting a clarification that screamed "we are NOT related" in everything but those exact words. Eric Flores, who worked as an assistant U.S. attorney from 2021 t

Maria Salinas
Jan 183 min read


Judge Garza Fires Back at Villarreal's Campaign Attacks
Judge Baldemar Garza issued a direct response to challenger Abel Villarreal Jr.'s campaign attacks, using a social media video to defend his record and question his opponent's reliability. The 229th District Court judge framed his rebuttal around a lesson from his mother. "My mother taught me a lesson I carry every day," Garza began in a video ad. "No puedes tapar el sol con un dedo. You cannot cover the truth with a single finger." The judge addressed criticism about his war

Maria Salinas
Jan 153 min read


Jasmine Crockett Said the Quiet Part Out Loud About Latino Voters
Representative Jasmine Crockett angered people when she compared some Latino voting patterns to a "slave mentality" during a post-election interview with Vanity Fair. Her words have been resurfaced and people are obviously losing their minds. But nobody wants to talk about whether she was right about the matter. In a December 2024 Vanity Fair interview about Kamala Harris's loss, Crockett was asked about race and gender in the election. Trump pulled 46 percent of the Latino v

Maria Salinas
Jan 143 min read


How to Win a Presidential Endorsement Without Really Trying
Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina didn't have to do much to earn President Donald Trump's endorsement. He just had to not be Henry Cuellar. That's the peculiar calculus propelling Tijerina's congressional campaign in Texas's 28th District, where Trump's backing arrived Tuesday as punishment for someone else's insufficient gratitude. The president pardoned Cuellar five weeks ago, eliminating federal bribery charges that threatened prison time. Cuellar responded by staying Democr

Maria Salinas
Jan 123 min read


In Congress, Swear Words Matter More Than Dead Mothers
Representative Jasmine Crockett stood during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday and let it rip. "It is so hard to sit here sometimes because I didn't come to Congress to write laws or to do things that are hurting people," Crockett said. "I'm asking if there's any decency or heart or courage on that side of the aisle. The fact that a woman was killed, she was shot in her head, and y'all are pretending like nothing happened." The Texas Democrat wasn't finished. "I re

Maria Salinas
Jan 103 min read


MAGA Democrats
The Moderates Moving As GOP Allies

Maria Salinas
Jan 94 min read


Texas Surrenders 18 Million Voter Records to Federal Government Without a Fight
Texas handed over the personal information of every registered voter in the state to the Trump administration's Justice Department on December 23. Dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers for 18.4 million Texans now sit in federal files. Secretary of State Jane Nelson's office confirmed the transfer last week, framing compliance as routine cooperation rather than capitulation. Twenty-three states have been sued by the Justice Department fo

Maria Salinas
Jan 93 min read


Perfect Political Alignment Is a Red Flag
Nobody agrees with everything. Not a spouse. Not a best friend. Not even the version of themselves from five years ago. Yet people wear political parties like team jerseys and defend every play, even the ugly ones. Especially the ugly ones. The reaction feels automatic. It sounds trained. Political identity now behaves like a personality. I’m a Democrat. I am a Republican. I am a liberal. Then there’s I am MAGA. Labels replace thinking. Allegiance replaces scrutiny. Once some

Maria Salinas
Jan 73 min read


The Emergency Room Physician Taking On South Texas Politics
"This is Ada Cuellar." No preamble. No political polish. Just a doctor's voice, clear and direct. "Last November, I was upset when we lost the election. Like many people, I wanted to run away." She didn't. She stayed and committed to battle. Dr. Ada Cuellar, 44, is an emergency room physician in Weslaco who decided that abandoning the Valley wasn't an option. Instead, she's mounting a congressional challenge against Monica De La Cruz, the incumbent who's been representing Tex

Maria Salinas
Jan 53 min read


Ni De Aqui, Ni De Alla
Eric Flores' LinkedIn profile is genuinely impressive. But professional credentials don't erase the infrastructure of nepotism that launched his career. Who is Eric Flores. Let's start here. The Flores family political machine runs generations deep. Eric's maternal grandfather, Jorge G. Garcia, served as mayor of Palmview for nearly 20 years. His paternal grandfather, Gumaro "Maro" Flores, was the first mayor of Sullivan City. Eric worked as city attorney for Palmview, the ci

Maria Salinas
Dec 29, 20253 min read


Texas Declares War on Gummies While Everything Else Burns
Welcome to Texas, where brisket is sacred, cattle are legendary, and state lawmakers have identified the gravest threat to civilization: watermelon-flavored hemp gummies. The legislature moved faster against peach rings than it ever has for failing schools or collapsing hospitals, treating candy-coated CBD like a national emergency. This is how politics works in 2025. A resident can legally stockpile enough firearms to outfit a small militia, but sell a hemp chew in a bag wit

Janie Flores-Alvarez
Nov 14, 20253 min read
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