Republican Eric Flores, Former U.S. Attorney and Veteran, Challenges Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in Texas District 34

U.S. attorney, is running against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in Texas Congressional District 34, a seat that has trended toward Republicans in recent elections.

The district is primarily made up of Hispanic voters and is viewed as a top pick-up opportunity for the GOP given the party's razor-thin House majority. Flores spoke with Fox News Digital after a meeting with shrimping business leaders at the Port of Brownsville.

He said South Texas Hispanic voters "can see through the smoke and mirrors" and are not connecting with Democratic messaging focused on opposition to President Donald Trump and the administration's immigration policy.

"The issues that I'm hearing right now from the South Texas constituent is not the mainstream media point or the invisible villain that folks like Vicente Gonzalez, AOC and James Talarico are casting right now," Flores said. "I'll tell you what the constituent and what the voter is focusing on right now. They're focusing on the cost of living.

Flores said voters want the "one big, beautiful bill, the working family tax cut" to continue lowering prices and help future generations afford homes. He contrasted local priorities with Democratic messaging, stating, "Here in South Texas, we're conservative. We go to church ...

We want to keep the family unit whole, whereas James Talarico is talking about six genders, right? He's talking about the first thing that he loves outside of his family and friends are transgender children. That's not what we're about here in South Texas.

We're about taking care of our family values of keeping Christ first. " Flores accused Gonzalez of failing to pass "a single substantive piece of legislation for South Texas" during nearly 10 years in Congress. "I don't know any job that you can have for 10 years and not be able to point to one substantive thing that you've done other than, well, I got this earmarked money, or I got these boys and girls grant," he said.

He said that when Democrats retake the majority in November, he will focus on ending "America Last" policies. " Flores noted that South Texas has been dominated by Democrats for roughly a century. He said, "folks down here feel absolutely abandoned by the Democrat[s].

We can say 50 to 100 years, people are tired of not having results. ... This is the number one targeted seat in the entire nation. ...