A new report reveals that Rep. Mayra Flores’ (R-Texas) Democratic opponent’s campaign paid a blogger who has repeatedly called her “Miss Frijoles.”
NBC News reported on Tuesday, “A Texas blogger paid by Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez’s campaign is attacking Republican opponent Rep. Mayra Flores as ‘Miss Frijoles’ and a ‘cotton-pickin’ liar,’ prompting a wave of denunciations by fellow Democrats.”
“The language first surfaced three days after Gonzalez’s campaign wrote a $1,200 check to The McHale Report blog June 24 for ‘advertising services,’ according to the Democrat’s Federal Election Commission finance report,” it added.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), who is set to face off against Flores in November, has denied that his campaign paid blogger Jerry McHale to use the offensive language as an attack against the Congresswoman. His campaign also insisted the timing of the payment for “advertising” and the attacks was just a coincidence.
Curiously, NBC notes that while the blog was paid for “advertising services,” it has not published any ads for the Democratic Congressman. However, it has labeled Flores “Miss Frijoles” 21 times since June.
Just as we move on from reminding people that it’s not a good idea to compare the Hispanic community to tacos, we get this report.
Flores, the first Mexican-born Congresswoman, responded to the attack on Twitter, writing, “My far left opponent, Vincent Gonzalez, hired a local blogger to run hateful [and] racist ads against me!”
“But, I love frijoles [and] I grew up eating frijoles. I am not embarrassed of my upbringings [and] frijoles w/tortillas de harina is simply the best. Here’s to Miss Frijoles 2022,” she added.
My far left opponent, Vincent Gonzalez, hired a local blogger to run hateful & racist ads against me!
— Mayra Flores Vallejo (@MayraFloresTX34) July 18, 2022
But, I love frijoles & I grew up eating frijoles. I am not embarrassed of my upbringings & frijoles w/tortillas de harina is simply the best. Here's to Miss Frijoles 2022 #TX34 pic.twitter.com/7z5SRGCfUv
McHale also denied that Gonzales’ campaign paid him for the attacks. However, he told NBC News, “I am a liberal Democrat. And it’s war against the Republican … I’m going to be merciless with her.”
He also claimed it is “perfect” to call Flores a “cotton-pickin’ liar” because he believes she lied about saying she picked cotton in the past as a farm worker.
“I don’t see it as a racist remark,” McHale added. “It’s just about food. It’s just satire. It’s just me making fun of her. When does political correctness go overboard?”
Still, Chuck Rocha, a Latino-outreach consultant, told the outlet, “I find it racist as a Mexican. All of those things are derogatory, no matter what your party is.”
Flores won her seat in a special election in June, but due to redistricting, she will face off against Gonzales in November in a district that is seen as more favorable for the Democrats. She is likely to face an uphill battle to win the general election in November, even in a year that looks like it’s shaping up to be very bad for Democrats.
However, this NBC report is probably not something that will help Gonzales in the race, and probably won’t do anything to help the Democrats’ outreach to the Hispanic community as they flee the party.