Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (; born September 4, 1967) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the
United States representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
for
Texas's 34th congressional district
Texas's 34th congressional district is a district that was created as a result of the 2010 Census. The first candidates ran in the 2012 elections; the winner, Democrat Filemon Vela Jr., was seated for the 113th United States Congress. The dist ...
since 2023 and formerly served as the representative for
Texas's 15th congressional district
Texas's 15th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes a thin section of the far south of the state of Texas. The district's current Representative is Democrat Vicente Gonzalez, who was first elected in 2 ...
from 2017–2023. He is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Early life
Gonzalez was born in
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...
, in 1967. He grew up in a working-class family, often working odd jobs that displayed entrepreneurial skills. He went to
Roman Catholic School
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...
in Corpus Christi for part of his childhood. In 11th grade, he dropped out of high school. He returned to school through a
G.E.D.
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
and enrolled at
Del Mar Junior College, where he received an associate degree in banking and finance. In 1992, Gonzalez earned his
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in aviation business administration from the
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs. Initially founded at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1926, its main campuses are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott ...
on the
Corpus Christi Naval Air Station
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is a United States Navy naval air base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas.
History
A naval air statio ...
. In 1996, he graduated from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (now the
Texas A&M University School of Law) with a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
.
Gonzalez founded his law firm, V. Gonzalez & Associates, in 1997. He recovered tens of millions of dollars for plaintiffs nationwide and was nominated to the "Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum." He is a member of Texas's and New York's
bar association
A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...
s. He is also licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2016
As a newcomer to politics, Gonzalez declared his candidacy in 2016 for the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
in after
Rubén Hinojosa
Rubén Eloy Hinojosa (born August 20, 1940) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , from 1997 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretched from Seguin (east of San Antonio), to McAllen ...
, the
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
representative, announced he would not run for reelection. He won the Democratic Party nomination, defeating Sonny Palacios in the
runoff election
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
. He defeated
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Tim Westley in the November general election with 57.3% of the vote to Westley's 37.7%.
2018
Gonzalez defeated Westley again with 59.7% of the vote to Westley's 38.7%.
2020
In 2020, Gonzalez's seat became unexpectedly competitive. He defeated Republican
Monica De La Cruz
Mónica De La Cruz (born November 11, 1974) is an American politician and insurance agent from the state of Texas. She has represented in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2023. De La Cruz is the first Republican to represent Texas's 15th ...
by a narrower margin than he had in his previous two victories, with 50.5% of the vote to Cruz-Hernandez's 47.6%.
2022
After Texas's redistricting based on the 2020 census, Gonzalez in November 2021 announced that he would run for reelection in the
34th district. The 15th district became more Republican but the neighboring 34th became significantly more Democratic. The Texas state legislature put Gonzalez's residence in the 34th. The incumbent in the 34th district,
Filemon Vela Jr.
Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. ( ; born February 13, 1963) is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 until his resignation in 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Vela was also vic ...
, had announced earlier in 2021 that he was not seeking reelection, and would endorse Gonzalez regardless of where he ran. Gonzalez won the district's March 2022 Democratic primary. The Republicans nominated
Mayra Flores
Mayra Nohemi Flores (born January 1, 1986) is an American politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 2022 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she is the first female Mexican-born member of the House ...
. After Vela resigned on March 31, 2022, Gonzalez declined to run in and instead endorsed Democrat Dan Sanchez in the consequential
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
on June 14, 2022, held in the 34th's older, more competitive boundaries. Flores, however, opted to run in the special election, and won with 50.9% of the vote to Sanchez's 43.4%. As a result, Gonzalez and Flores competed against each other in the November 8 general election, in which Gonzalez defeated Flores to become the next representative for the 34th District. In the same election, Gonzalez's 2020 opponent Monica De La Cruz ran in and won in the redrawn 15th District, making her the successor to Gonzalez for that district.
Tenure
Gonzalez was sworn on January 3, 2017. He is only the seventh person to represent this district since its creation in 1903.
In January 2019, Gonzalez and other members of the bipartisan U.S. House
Problem Solvers Caucus met with President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in an unsuccessful bid to end the longest federal
government shutdown
A government shutdown occurs when the Legislature, legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government.
Government shutdo ...
in U.S. history.
Gonzalez received the
Order of the Quetzal
The Order of the Quetzal (Spanish: Orden del Quetzal) is Guatemala’s highest honor.
History and award conditions
Established in 1936, it is bestowed by the Government of Guatemala
Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a p ...
in January 2020.
In August 2021, Gonzalez joined a group of conservative Democrats, dubbed "The Unbreakable Nine", who threatened to derail the Biden administration's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package meant to tackle the nation's infrastructure.
On July 29, 2022, Gonzalez and four other Democrats joined the Republicans in voting against a bill banning assault weapons.
As of June 2022, Gonzalez had voted in line with
Joe Biden's stated position 97.3% of the time.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees t ...
**
**
**
*
Committee on Foreign Affairs
** United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade
**
Caucus memberships
*
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fou ...
* Congressional Oil & Gas Caucus
* Congressional Small Business Caucus
* Congressional Blue Collar Caucus
*
Medicare for All Caucus
*
Blue Collar Caucus
*
Blue Dog Coalition
The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative De ...
*
Problem Solvers Caucus
*
New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...
Personal life
Gonzalez's wife, Lorena, is a former teacher and school administrator from
McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...
. His father was a
merchant seaman who served in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Gonzalez lives in McAllen.
See also
*
References
External links
Congressman Gonzalezofficial U.S. House website
Campaign website*
*
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Vicente
1967 births
21st-century American politicians
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Living people
American politicians of Mexican descent
People from McAllen, Texas
Texas A&M University School of Law alumni
Texas lawyers