A digital billboard in Brownsville looks almost exactly like an Eric Flores campaign ad. It has his photo, his colors, and his name. It also has two things his own ads have stopped highlighting: a photo of Flores with President Donald Trump, and a line touting his support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Now Flores’ campaign wants it gone.
In an Oct. 12 cease-and-desist letter, an attorney for the Republican’s campaign demanded that Lamar Advertising of the Rio Grande Valley immediately remove the billboard, arguing it was designed to trick voters into thinking it came from Flores, The Washington Sun first reported. The fine print says it was paid for by the campaign of Flores’ opponent, Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.
The fight over a single billboard captures the bind Flores has been in for months. He’s running in Texas’ 34th Congressional District as Trump’s endorsed candidate, but as Trump’s policies weigh on the Rio Grande Valley, his campaign has stopped putting Trump’s name front and center.
The letter, from campaign attorney Eric Wang, argues the billboard “intentionally mimics the distinctive look of our client’s campaign signs and other materials to cause voter confusion,” and that it “fraudulently purports to be on behalf of” the Flores campaign.
The letter doesn’t dispute that Trump endorsed Flores or that Flores supports ICE. Trump gave Flores his “complete and total endorsement” in a Truth Social post last December and on Instagram just a month ago.
Flores’ campaign confirmed to the Sun the letter is authentic, but said it had nothing to do with the Trump endorsement or ICE.
“Vicente Gonzalez is a practiced scammer who has been running a con on South Texas voters for years. This billboard is just the most recent example,” campaign spokesperson Matt Brownfield said in a statement to the Sun. “It is designed, on purpose, to cause people to think that it comes from the Flores Campaign.”
There’s some confusion about who paid for it. The billboard credits Gonzalez’s campaign, while the letter names the Northern Cameron County Democrats. Neither the group nor Lamar responded to the Sun’s requests for comment. As of Friday, Gonzalez’s campaign said the billboard was still up.
Gonzalez’s campaign said Flores is running from his own record.
“Eric Flores proudly bragged about his Trump endorsement during the primary. Now he’s ashamed and is trying to distance himself from the President and the hyperaggressive ICE raids devastating our economy,” a campaign spokesperson told the Sun.
Eric Flores Tiptoeing around Trump
After the March primary, Flores’ campaign removed “Trump Endorsed” and “Republican” from its yard signs, even as Flores continued to tout the endorsement online and at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. A spokesperson told Politico at the time that sign design isn’t an issue voters care about.
Flores’ campaign materials now emphasize his biography: a former assistant US attorney and Texas Army National Guard captain who served on the border. That’s part of a broader trend of Republican candidates de-emphasizing Trump amid his low approval ratings and voter frustration over costs, the Sun reported.
In the 34th District, the policies Flores has embraced are landing hard. Courier Texas has reported how heavily the tariffs are weighing on South Texas, an issue Flores has said little about publicly. He has praised Trump’s “courage” in launching the war with Iran, which has driven up gas and diesel prices. And he has embraced Trump’s signature tax law, saying it “put more money into the pockets of people in South Texas,” even as it has brought SNAP and Medicaid cuts and billions for border wall construction to the Valley.
Republicans redrew Texas’ 34th congressional district last year to make it more favorable to them, and it’s now one of the most competitive House races in the country.
Gonzalez’s campaign also accused Flores of backing out of a debate “at the last minute.” Flores’ campaign did not respond to the Sun about that claim.
Flores’ and Gonzalez’s campaigns did not respond to Courier Texas’ request for comment by publication time.
Early voting runs now through Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3.
